Skip to main content

Full text of "The Cyclades; or, Life among the insular Greeks"

See other formats 


Google 


This  is  a  digital  copy  of  a  book  that  was  preserved  for  generations  on  library  shelves  before  it  was  carefully  scanned  by  Google  as  part  of  a  project 

to  make  the  world's  books  discoverable  online. 

It  has  survived  long  enough  for  the  copyright  to  expire  and  the  book  to  enter  the  public  domain.  A  public  domain  book  is  one  that  was  never  subject 

to  copyright  or  whose  legal  copyright  term  has  expired.  Whether  a  book  is  in  the  public  domain  may  vary  country  to  country.  Public  domain  books 

are  our  gateways  to  the  past,  representing  a  wealth  of  history,  culture  and  knowledge  that's  often  difficult  to  discover. 

Marks,  notations  and  other  maiginalia  present  in  the  original  volume  will  appear  in  this  file  -  a  reminder  of  this  book's  long  journey  from  the 

publisher  to  a  library  and  finally  to  you. 

Usage  guidelines 

Google  is  proud  to  partner  with  libraries  to  digitize  public  domain  materials  and  make  them  widely  accessible.  Public  domain  books  belong  to  the 
public  and  we  are  merely  their  custodians.  Nevertheless,  this  work  is  expensive,  so  in  order  to  keep  providing  tliis  resource,  we  liave  taken  steps  to 
prevent  abuse  by  commercial  parties,  including  placing  technical  restrictions  on  automated  querying. 
We  also  ask  that  you: 

+  Make  non-commercial  use  of  the  files  We  designed  Google  Book  Search  for  use  by  individuals,  and  we  request  that  you  use  these  files  for 
personal,  non-commercial  purposes. 

+  Refrain  fivm  automated  querying  Do  not  send  automated  queries  of  any  sort  to  Google's  system:  If  you  are  conducting  research  on  machine 
translation,  optical  character  recognition  or  other  areas  where  access  to  a  large  amount  of  text  is  helpful,  please  contact  us.  We  encourage  the 
use  of  public  domain  materials  for  these  purposes  and  may  be  able  to  help. 

+  Maintain  attributionTht  GoogXt  "watermark"  you  see  on  each  file  is  essential  for  in  forming  people  about  this  project  and  helping  them  find 
additional  materials  through  Google  Book  Search.  Please  do  not  remove  it. 

+  Keep  it  legal  Whatever  your  use,  remember  that  you  are  responsible  for  ensuring  that  what  you  are  doing  is  legal.  Do  not  assume  that  just 
because  we  believe  a  book  is  in  the  public  domain  for  users  in  the  United  States,  that  the  work  is  also  in  the  public  domain  for  users  in  other 
countries.  Whether  a  book  is  still  in  copyright  varies  from  country  to  country,  and  we  can't  offer  guidance  on  whether  any  specific  use  of 
any  specific  book  is  allowed.  Please  do  not  assume  that  a  book's  appearance  in  Google  Book  Search  means  it  can  be  used  in  any  manner 
anywhere  in  the  world.  Copyright  infringement  liabili^  can  be  quite  severe. 

About  Google  Book  Search 

Google's  mission  is  to  organize  the  world's  information  and  to  make  it  universally  accessible  and  useful.   Google  Book  Search  helps  readers 
discover  the  world's  books  while  helping  authors  and  publishers  reach  new  audiences.  You  can  search  through  the  full  text  of  this  book  on  the  web 

at|http: //books  .google  .com/I 


( 


THE 


INSULAR    GREEKS 


I]F 


LONDON  :     PRINTED     BY 

SPOTTISWOODE    AND     CO.,     NEW-STREET     SQUARE 

AND     PARLIAMENT  '   STREET 


THE  CYCL 


LIFE    AMONG     THE    INi 


Jf  THEODORE  BENT 


LONDON 
LONGMANS,    GREE: 
1885 


( 

> 


^ 


\ 


^ 


» 


I 

^■>  PREFACE. 


The  Islands  of  the  iEgean  Sea  offer  plen 
for  the  study  of  Hellenic  archaeology,  but  the 
particularly  rich  in  the  preservation  of  vrn 
customs  which  have  survived  the  lapse  of 
the  result  of  a  special  study  of  both  these  pc 
during  two  winters  passed  by  my  wife  s 
amongst  the  islanders  in  their  distant  ham! 
their  towns  by  the  sea-coast,  I  here  place 
public. 

The  causes  which  have  conduced  to  n 
Cyclades  a  favourable  field  for  the  study  c 
folklore  are  these  :  First,  the  islands  were 
the  mainland,  subject  to  the  incursions  of 
tribes ;  this  fact  is  especially  noticeable  in 
of  Andros,  the  most  northern  and  the  mosi 
of  the  Cycladic  group  from  the  mainland 
Eubcea.  The  northern  portion  of  this  islai 
sively  Albanian  in  speech,  manners,  and  cusi 
^  Greeks  in  the  south  are  highly  influenced  b] 
^  mixture,  which  has  in  a  measure  destroyed  t 
o  of  the  continental  Greeks  ;  but  here  the  Alb 
has  ended,  there  is  not  a  trace  of  it  in  any  c 
Cyclades. 

379432 


u. 


3 


Secondly,  the  Italian  influence  which  was  doi 
in  the  Middle  Ages  in  the  Cyclades  has  left  traces  < 
extend  little  beyond  the  towns  on  the  sea-coast 
Latin  rule  seems  to  have  been  a  mild  one,  but  tin-  i 
amongst  the  Greeks  ;  religious  feeling  between  E  ; 
West  ran  high,  and  each  party  throughout  retair  : 
customs  and  their  cult.     At  Naxos,  for  examp 
are  still  existing  many  families  of  Italian  ori|   ■ 
retain  their  religion  ;  they  reside  almost  exclu!   ■ 
the    chief   town.     The   sailors,   in   their  diale 
quantities  of  Italian  words,  but  up  in  the  mou    ; 
Naxos,  a  few  hours'  distance  from  the  town  th 
are  inhabited  by  Greeks  of  the  most  undoubted 
It  is  the  same  at  Santorin,  where  the  Italian 
■   was.  equally  pronounced.     If  you  leave  IW  \. 
go  into  the  villages,  you  find  customs  existint 
nature  of  which  stamps  the.in  as  HeWenic 

Thirdly,  during  the  Turkish  times  the  Cyt ; 
hardly  ever  interfered  with,  and  if  they  annual!-  ■ 
tribute  to  the  Kapitan  Pasha  wKen  \ve  a.nc\\ 
Drio  of  Paros  to  collect  the  revenues,  the  isla 
practically  allowed  self-government  '   It 
the  Sporades,  which  are  far  more  produeW  ■ 
access.   Chios.  Lesbos.  Samos  and  others  ar. 
dens  as  compared  with  the  Cyclades  ■ 
islands  of  the  CycUdic  group,  such  as'lo^  c:, 

gandros,somcofwhrchappeartohavebl„ 

c-.thePe.po.L:::^:-^^^ 


V 


Ve:C?l:,    /ja^^ 

^e  viWages 
^.^d  pedigree, 
ian  influence 
e  towns  and 
ting  the  Tery 

Cyclades  were 

aally  sent  their 

hored  off  Cape 

islanders  were 

was  not  so  with 

ive  and  easier  of 

5  are  oerfect  gar- 

nd  to  the  smaller 

'S,  Sikinos,  Pholy- 

been  uninhabited, 

•efugees  came  and 

>  of  Greece.    The 

nhabitants  of  Asia 


PREFACE, 


Minor,  to  escape  from  Turkish  oppression,  I 
villages  up  on  the  hills  to  protect  themselves  f 
and  there  they  have  maintained  their  customs 

ever  since. 

i 

From  these  facts  it  will  be  obvious  that  tl 
especially  the  smaller  ones,  offer  unusual  1 
the  study  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  th 
they  are,  with  a  view  to  comparing  them  w 
the  Greeks  as  they  were.  The  mainland  of 
been  overrun  by  barbaric  tribes  :  the  Ionian  i 
been  thoroughly  Italianised :  Greece  in  Asia 
the  islands  adjacent  to  the  coast  have  been  ; 
Islamism  :  yet  the  Cyclades  have  remained  i 
as  they  were,  thanks  to  their  insignificance 
ductive  soil. 

I  did  not  find  much  literature  to  assist 
researches.  Tournefort's  'Travels  in  the  I 
pleasant  companion,  adducing  quaint  hisi 
and  showing  us  what  the  islands  were  like 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  Ludwig  Ross, 
reisen,  guides  the  traveller  to  the  princip* 
antiquity,  which  were  discovered  fifty  years 
nard  Schmidt's  Volksleben  der  Neugriechen 
excellent  basis  on  which  to  start  inquirie 
manners  and  customs  ;  but  as  his  material 
culled  from  the  Ionian  islands  and  the  mainl 
a  vast  difference  existing  between  the  custom 
lected  and  those  of  the  Cyclades.  Von  Hahr 
of  fables,  Wachsmuth's  work  on  Greek  folkL 
or  two  others  of  minor  importance,  I  found 


viii  PREFACE, 


for  suggesting  remarks,  and  these  invariably  provoked  a 

discussion  whence  the  genuine  local  customs  were  learnt 

But  personal   intercourse  with  the  islanders  in   all 

grades  of  society,  at   their  work   and   at   their  board, 

proved  to  us  the  most  infallible  method  of  understanding 

their  life  and  their  superstitions  as  they  exist  to-day  ;  and 

the  kindly  hospitality  with  which  they  received  us,  and 

the  surprise  they  evinced   at  seeing  for  the  first  time 

amongst  them  an  English  lady,  will  remain  forever  fixed 

on  our  memories.     My  first  experiences  were  made  with 

the  assistance  of  a  dragoman  ;  but,  on  better  acquaintance 

with  the  language,  I  learnt  to  despise  his  services,  and 

took  as  servant  a  native  of  one  of  the  islands,  who  became 

invaluable  in  assisting  me  to  discover  points  of  folklore 

which  without  him  it  would  have  been  impossible  to 

arrive  at. 

J.  THEODORE  BENT. 


13  Great  Cumberland  Place,  W. 
November  1884. 


I  beg  leave  here  to  acknowledge  the  kindness  of 
Messrs.  Macmillan,  who  have  allowed  me  to  reprint, 
under  a  slightly  enlarged  form,  my  articles  entitled,  *  A 
Panhellenic  Festival,*  *  Easter  Week  in  Amorgos,'  *  The 
Capital  of  the  Cyclades,'  which  appeared  in  their  magazine, 
and  the  article  which  has  been  published  by  them  in  the 
Hellenic  Journal  res'pQctmg  my  excavations  at  Antiparos  ; 
also  that  of  Messrs.  Chatto  &  Windus,  for  allowing  me 
to  republish  an  article  which  appeared  in  the  Gentleman's 
Magazine  under  the  title  of  *  In  Greek  Waters.* 


)rovoked  a 
ere  learnt. 
irs  in  all 
ir  board, 
standing 
ay;  and 
us,  and 
St  time 
r  fixed 
e  with 
itance 
>,  and 
:anie 
:Jore 
?  to 

r. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 


SERIPHOS. 


)f 


The  frogs — Captain  George — Danae  and  Perseus — Appearance  of 
town — The  little  plain  of  Livadhi — Tombs  in  fields — St.  Isidores 
— St.  Tryphon  and  Apollo  Smintheus — Captain  George's  house 
and  wife — The  game  of  the  swing — The  King  of  Seriphos — Few 
antiquities  in  Seriphos — Start  for  convent  of  Archangel  Michael 
and  Galene — Winepresses — Process  of  making  wine — Ceremonies 
at  time  of  firstfruits — Planting  of  vineyards — Preparing  of  tools 
before  sowing  of  seed — The  Transfiguration  basket — The  convent 
frescoes — Galene,  the  old  demarch  and  his  presentiments — 
Stories  of  Nereids — Stories  of  old  Plyntes  and  old  Stavris — The 
superior  of  the  convent  tells  us  about  the  history  of  two  lamps — 
Hospitality  at  Kalosis  —  Draught  mills — Inscription — Magnet 
mines — The  white  tower — Difficulty  in  leaving  Seriphos   . 


; 


CHAPTER   II. 


SIPHNOS. 


The  sponge-fishers  and  their  Kdfia^ — Night  in  the  potter's  shed — His 
bed  and  board — The  potters  of  Siphnos — Their  wheel — Barren 
spot — The  centre  of  Siphniote  life — The  pigs — Captain  George's 
riddle — ApoUonia — Captain  Prokos,  his  family  and  his  house — 
The  temple  of  the  nymphs — Genii  loci — Food  to  propitiate  them — 
Hamadryads — Arabs — Nunnery  of  St.  John  the  Theologian — Its 
origin — Western  influence  in  Siphnos — The  Schtfol  of  the  Hply 
Tomb,  its  foundation  and  results — Chrysogelos — The  Kastro — 


I 


CONTENTS, 


PACK 


Italian  town — Inscriptions — Old  houses  and  old  costumes  and 
jewellery — Ruins  of  Hellenic  town — The  mines — Herodotus  on 
the.  ancient  Siphniotes — At  the  monastery  of  the  well  —  Pronuncia- 
tion— Intrusive  pig — Visit  to  Pharos — The  nunnery  of  the  Virgin 
of  the  Mountain — Kypriani— Luxuriance  of  vegetation—  harbour 
and  monk  of  Bathy 21 

Note  on  the  Ancient  Gold  and  Silver  Mines  of  Siphnos  .         .       38 

CHAPTER   III. 

KIMOLOS. 

Volcanic  nature  of  island — *  Terra  Kimolia  * —  Donke3rs  and  their 
saddles — The  town  and  our  accommodation — The  sacrarium — 
Vampires  and  priestly  exorcisms  —  Other  superstitions  —  Mrs. 
Gamp  and  the  Nereids — St.  Katharina's  Day — Sailor  struck  by 
Telonia  in  the  church — Recipe  for  love  cakes — The  Kimoliote 
costume — Visit  to  the  old  camp — Lunch  at  a  mandra — View  over 
the  island  from  the  old  camp — Incantation  to  cure  headache — 
To  cure  paleness  and  warts — Antiquity  of  charms — Adieu  to 
Captain  George — Visit  to  the  ruins  at  HellenikiL — Mr.  Brest's 
excavations — Daskalio — Crossing  to  Melos       .         .         .         .41 

CHAPTER   IV. 
MELOS. 

The  sun  and  his  mother — Winter  storms — ApoUonia — Melos  by  moon- 
light— Our  muleteer*s  astrology — Refuge  in  a  cave — Our  rece{)tion 
at  the  capital — Horseshoe  shape  of  Melos — French  corsairs  and 
prosperity  of  the  island — The  corsair  Capsi — Cause  of  decay  of 
Melos — The  number  of  churches  and  their  peculiar  names — View 
from  Acropolis — Surrounding  villages — The  costume — Objects  of 
interest  at  Trypet^ — Nychia  and  Plaka — Exposure  of  delicate 
children — ^Vanis — The  deserted  western  horn  of  Melos — Expedi- 
tion to  the  Convent  of  the  Iron  St.  John — Wild  mastic  berries — 
Our  girl  botanist — Mount  Prophet  Elias — Numerous  cairns — 
Legend  of  the  convent — Erinomelos  and  mouflon — Convent  of 
St.  Marina — Natural  Turkish  bath — Deserted  Zephyria — Old 
Kromidonis  and  his  reminiscences — Priestly  curses — Pestilences 
and  methods  for  checking  them — Euphemisms  for  diseases — 
Caves  by  the  sea — Port  of  Adamantas — Church — Delay  there 


\    - 


CONTENTS.  xi 


PAGE 

— Cotton-spinning — Greek    music — Fables — The  fable  of  the 
twelve  months 57 

Note  on  the  Antiquities  of  Melos :  The  ruins  in  the  vale  of 
Klima — The  finding  of  the  Venus  of  Melos  and  the  statue 
of  Poseidon — The  catacombs         .         .         .         .         .81 

» 

CHAPTER  V. 

ANAPHI. 

Legend  of  Anaphi — Prophet  Elias  and  the  sun  god — Measurement  of 
light — Arrival  at  Anaphi — Night  in  the  church — The  partridges 
of  Anaphi — Reptiles — The  town  and  its  isolation — The  name 
of  Chalaris — Handsome  people — Eutimia — The  costume — Old 
Chalaris  and  his  antiquarian  interests — No  doctor  and  longevity 
— An  Anaphiote  cottage — Good  bread — Anaphi  independent  of 
the  world — The  Crispi  castle — The  Russians— Wet  morning — 
The  rainbow  and  hail — The  old  town  and  remains — KartiXu/ia  and 
its  limekiln — An  island  plough — Nereids  of  the  sea — The  Lamiae 
— A  dance  at  Anaphi — The  syrtos,  the  systa,  and  the  moloritis — 
Andronico's  song  and  dance — Visit  to  the  convent  and  ancient 
temple  of  Apollo  -^glites — Inscription  in  a  ruined  house  .         .       86 

CHAPTER  VI. 

SANTORIN   (THERA). 

I.   Tlie  Volcano, 

I 
Description  of  the  volcanic  cluster — Mesa  Boun6  and  Monolithos 

— Chasms — The  earliest  eruptions — Excavations  on  Therasia-^ 

Authorities  for  the  eruption  in  198  B.c. — The  name  of  Thera — 

The  eruptions  in  60  A.D.  and  726  A.D. — That  of  1457  and  1573 — 

Father  Richard's  account  of  the   terrible   one  in   1650 — MS. 

accounts  of  eruption  in  1707 — Scientific  observations  in  1866 — 

The  prospective  danger — Effect  on  the  inhabitants — Extent  of 

this  effect — Effect  on  vegetable  life — Superstitious  dread,  and 

story  of  old  Laimos 104 

2.    The  Island  of  Santorin^  or  Thera. 

First  impressions — The  port  and  houses — The  cliff — Expressive  words 
— Theeparch — Pherk — St.  Irene — Expedition- to  and  ascent  of  the 


xii  CONTENTS. 


volcano^Roman  Catholics  here— Walk  to  Scares,  Meroviglia, 
and   Mount  Jupiter — Across  the  plains  and  vineyards — Vine- 
growing — Cisterns  and  lack  of  water — Gonii  and  houses  in  the 
rock — Bothro  in  a  chasm — Description  of  the  houses — The  damp 
— Our  shoemaker's  songs  —  Santoriniote  wit  and  thriftiness — 
Vintage  festivity — Church  of  Bothr6 — Expedition  to  Pyrgos  and 
Mount  Prophet  Elias — The  view — Sport  in  Santorin — Akroteri 
and  the  Greek  calends — ^The  old  woman's  alarm — New  year 
festivities — Cheesecakes — The  leper  hospital — Black  dresses  of 
the  women — Cold — Expedition  to  Epanomerik — Nautical  cus- 
toms— Roman  tombs — A  wedding  at  Santorin — Intrusion  on  the 
bride — Music — Gun -firing — The  honey  ceremony— Music  cere- 
mony on  making  the  crowns — Procession  to  church — Religious 
ceremony  and  the  dance  afterwards — Other  wedding  customs— 
The  proposal — Expedition  to  Emporion — The  old  church  there, 
and  ceremony  of  blessing  the  waters — Torrents  of  rain — Basket 
industry — Expedition  to  Therasia — Blessing  of  the  sea — Break- 
fast at  the  demarch's  house — Quaint  village  of  AgaM — Search 
for  our  drunken  sailors — Symposia — The  Lamia  of  the  sea — Ideas 
on  wind — Our  sailors'  fight,  and  dangerous  passage  .        .        .115 

Note  /. — On  the  Antiquities  of  Santorin:  Private  collections — 
Ruins  of  Eleusis — The  serpent — The  heroa — Perissa — 
Ruins  on  Mesa  Boun6  of  iht  town  of  Thera — Roman 
remains  at  Kamaris       . 146 

Note  II. — On  the  Prehistoric  remains  at  Therasia;  Discoveries 
of  houses  beneath  the  pumice  stone — Utensils  found  in 
them  compared  with  those  from  Antiparos  and  Akroteri .     149 


CHAPTER  VII. 
lOS  (NIO). 

The  steamer  Panhellenion — Little  Malta — Our  new  friends — Costume 
in  los — The  town  and  our  house — Old  costume — Mysethra—Vait 
supposed  tomb  of  Homer — Plaketos  and  its  cottages — Games 
played  by  muleteers — The  girls  and  their  divinations — Expedition 
to  the  old  Frankish  town — Marble  mountain — Family  church  and 
feast  day — Roman  remains — The  church  of  the  Holy  Theodote 
and  the  panegyris — Our  evening  amusements — ^Various  kinds  of 
games 151 


CONTENTS.  xiu 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS. 


PAGB 


No  harbour  in  the  island-The  fleet-Barren  shore-The  two  Tillages 
-The  Cretan  refugees-Our  jovial  host-The  Castro-BIessmg 
the  sea-The  superstition  about  sores  and  linen-Bird-blmdness- 
TheTorthem  coLt-Visit  to  the  church  of  Episcopi-The  owner's 
cell,  and  the  fare  he  has  to  give  us-The  storm  comes  on-Our 
hilarious  host-The  former  demarch  takes  us  ^-^^^^^^^^^^^ 
house-The  old  monastery  on  the  top  of  the  hill-The  birth  m 
sLinos-Malechildren-Superstitions-We  visit  the  mother,  and 
Lt  preTnt  at  the  washing  and  blessing  ceremony-The  demar^^ 
infonnation  about  births-St.  Eleuthenos-The  virgins  hand 
and  hair-The  baptism  ceremonies  connected  with  it-The 
rait5o..^Charms-The  evil  eye-The  fate-telhng-Be hef  m 
Mo^a-The  writings  of  the  Fates-Five  days'  wedding  festivities 
—The  dancing— Pack-saddle  dance *70 

Note  on  the  Temple  of  Pythian  Apollo  and  the  old  Town  of 

Sikinos *^^ 


CHAPTER    IX. 

PHOLYGANDROS. 

Long  sail— Magnihcent  coast  scenery— Mysterious  arrival  and  climb 

to  town— Our  new  host— Modern  ideas— Power  of  an  island 

demarch— Democrats  and  aristocrats— Politics— Excess  of  rivalry 

—The  grief  table  and  food  of  woe— How  the  old  man  received 

the  prayer  oil— All  Samts'  Day  and  K6Wvpa—*  Inside '  and 

*  Outside  '—Baking  day  and  ovens— Old  ruins— Visit  to  the  golden 

grotto— Southern  harbour— The  uses  of  the  gourd— Stupendous 

coastline— Terrible  climb  and  alarm  of  the  demarch— Ancient 

cisterns  inside — Form  of  Pholygandros — St.  Eleutherios  and  the 

historical  association— Pholygandriote  society— Dr.  Venier  and 

his  treasures  —  Jealousy  of  our  hostess  —  Dinner  party  with 

Themistocles  Mavrojenes— Our  boatmen  dye  their  sail— Our 

ballast  increased— Difi&culties  of  our  voyage      ....     194 


xiv  CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  DEATH-WAILS  OF  MYKONOS. 

PACB 

Osier  bulwarks  and  horn  sail-rings — Hydriote  boats — Approach  to 
Mykonos — Appearance  of  town — St.  Nicholas  and  Poseidon — 
Our  friend  Paleologus — The  Monk  family — Deaths — The  lament 
for  those  who  die  abroad — Modern  ideas  of  death — Charon, 
Tartarus,  Hades,  Phlegethon,  and  Lethe  reproduced — Descrip- 
tion of  Charon  from  lamentations — Death  of  young  Parodos — 
Prayer  oil — Melting  of  salt — Death  agonies  and  their  significance 
— The  marologista  Zachara — The  makramades  and  costume  of 
Mykonos — Love  for  mcerologia — The  Marseilles  merchant — The 
funeral — Distressing  scenes  at  the  lamentations — Zachara's  songs 
— Refreshments  and  renewed  grief — A  second  motrologista  comes 
in — Breaking  of  the  jug — Funeral  procession — The  last  kiss — 
Burial — Cleansing  the  house — The  bitter  table — The  KJxXv/Saand 
blessed  cakes — Grief  renewed  at  intervals — Distribution  of  food — 
A  second  lamentation — My  awkward  position — The  sister's  grief 
— Mykonos  itself — Few  traces  of  antiquity — Delos  the  centre  of 
attraction — Local  museums — Expedition  to  Tourliani — Fertile 
homesteads — Mrs.  Monk's  treasures — Marousa  the  witch — A 
prescription  for  a  love  potion 209 

Note  L — On  the  Museums  of  Mykonos 228 

Note  I L  —  The  Excavations  at  Delos 229 


CHAPTER  XL 

TENOS. 

I.    The  Panhellenic  Festival, 

Love  of  the  panegyris — Polytheism — The  Madonna  of  Tenos — Vast 
concourse  of  Greeks — List  of  miracles — Political  aspect  of  the 
feast — St.  Nicholas  at  Tenos — Discovery  of  miraculous  picture 
in  1822 — Cleverly  contrived  plan — Debt  of  gratitude  owed  to 
religion — New  theories  on  old  bases — Voyage  from  Athens — The 
crowds  on  board — Honey  and  milk — The  crowds  of  pilgrims  and 
their  presents — Scene  on  the  way  from  the  pier  to  the  church — 
Appearance  of  the  church — Pillars  from  Delos — The  holy  of 
holies — Silversmiths — Baptisms,  and  struggles  to  be  god-parents 
— Weighing  a  baby  and  candles — A  Turk's  offering — Receiving 


CONTENTS.  XV 


PAGE 

offerings — Cures  for  blindness — Night  scene  in  church — *E7<co(- 
li-iltris — In  the  vaults  below — Handkerchiefs  on  candlestick — 
Cotton  wool — Pilgrim  wit — Scene  in  the  town — Cleaning  of  the 
picture  —  Private  ceremony  —  The  procession  —  Departure  of 
pilgrims — Miracles 231 

2.    The  Island  Itself. 

Difference  of  scene  a  year  later — The  town  of  St.  Nicholas — Antiquities 
— The  dovecotes — Exoburgo — The  view — Strength  of  position — 
History — The  cowsheds — Loutri — Miss  Leeves'  establishment — 
Carved  fanlights — Clean  Monday — Visit  to  a  nunnery — The  hours 
— The  lady  superior — The  nuns'  cells — Constitution  of  nunnery — 
Fasting — The  charnel  house — Hill  villages — Festivities — Dancing 
on  roof — The  carnival  dance — Teniote  mules — Kardian^ — The 
winds — Vihp  Bop4a5 — Hystemia — Pyrgos  and  its  marble — Charms    250 


CHAPTER   XII. 
ANDROF. 

I.  Eastern  Andros. 

Picturesqueness  and  fertility — The  eparch — An  Andriote  luxury — 
Lemon  and  mulberry  trees — Quaint  custom — The  old  town — 
Fertility  of  the  plain — Lenten  fasting — Pig-killing — Old  church  at 
Messari^i — The  paradise  of  Menites — Lofty  towers — The  archons 
and  their  family  pride — Customs — Temple  of  Dionysos — Andriote 
jams — Monastery  of  Pandchrantos — The  austere  superior — Night 
there — Our  frugal  meal — Damp  cell — Early  mass — The  church — 
Silver  treasures — Miserable  journey  to  Korthl — Aedonia — Night 
in  a  tower— Demarch  Kaires — Theophilos  Kaires  and  his  orphan- 
age— The  vale  of  Korthl — No  traces  of  antiquity  on  the  eastern 
side 269 

2.    Western  Andros  and  its  Antiquities. 

Difference  between  Western  and  Eastern  Andros  —  Greeks  and 
Albanians — Gyaros — Site  of  the  old  town — Our  quarters  there — 
^Xctrs — Ruins — Legend  of  two  towers — Girls  and  the  olive  twigs 
— Albanians — Mpatzi — Fishing  boats — Shellfish — Attack  of  fever 
— Gavrion — The  north  winds  and  threshing  floors — The  character 
of  the  inhabitants — Expedition  to  Phell6 — Marble  quarry — The 
tower  of  St.  Peter — Monastery  of  Hagia — Comfortable  quarters — 


h 


xvi  CONTENTS. 


\ 


\ 


FAGM, 


The  Bishop  of  Stavropolis  and  his  book — The  sacred  source — ^Was 
this  the  temple  of  Dionysos  ? — Age  of  monastery — The  library — 
Interesting  MSS. — Katikoilos  and  our  strange  host — The  mother- 
in-law  and  her  superstitions — Andriote  hospitality — Lamyra,  and 
how  we  were  entertained  there 286 

NbU  an  the  Round  Hellenic  Tower  of  Andros        ,         .         .     301 


CHAPTER  XI 1 1. 

SYRA,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  THE  CYCLADES. 

Cause  of  its  growth— Appearance  of  Hermoupolis— Barren  rocks- 
Homer's  description— How  accounted  for— Life  and  colouring  in 
Syra  harbour— Gay  appearance  of  the  quay— The  fish  market- 
Hotels— Roman  Catholics  have  made  Syra— French  protection- 
Greek  freedom  produces  a  new  era— The  Chiote  refugees  settle 
at  Tenos  and  eventually  at   Syra  —  Hermoupolis  founded— 
Islanders  weak-minded  in  revolt — Colonisation  of  Syra— Neu- 
trality, but  supplies  of  money  sent— The  first  two-storied  house- 
Christening  of  Hermoupolis— Church  parliaments— Pirates  dis- 
turb  commerce — Growth  of  Hermoupolis— Why  Greece  has  n  t 
answered  expectations— Description  of  town— Visit  to  the  uni- 
versity  and  the  archbishop — The  newspaper  Pherecydes-^lis^. 
tions— The  theatre— The  west  end— Roads  and  carriages— Visit 
to  Delle  Grazie— Two  ancient  cities— Merchants'  gardens— Feasts 
of  Dionysos— Upper    Syra,  convent,  and  view— Sentimental 
young  lady— Expedition— Rough  mule-track— An  old  man— 
L^end  about  old  age— Homer's  lines— Herdsmen— Goat-bells 
—Some  strange  words— Grammata  Bay  and  the  old  rock  inscrin 
tions — Chryse  and  Talanta      .        .        .        ^        ^      "»cr^- 


304 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
NAXOS. 

I.  An  Historical  Sketch, 


Importance  of  Naxos— Difference  between  town  and  mountain  Uf  — 
Greek  influence  on  Venice— Latin  line  of  dukes— Our  authoriti 
—Rancour  between  Greek  and  Latin— Marco  Sanudo's  conon^ 
-Duke  Spezzabunda-The  Crispi  femUy-Constant  stn^les  b 


CONTENTS,  xvii 


PAGE 

the  islands — Turkish  inroads — Duke  John's  dilemma — Duke 
James,  the  last  of  the  Crispis — The  great  Jew  Joseph — Coronelli 
and  Turkish  agas — The  Latin  nobility — ^Jealousies — The  Latins 
of  the  upper  town .         .     329 

2.   The  Town  of  Naxia, 

Difficulty  of  getting  a  lodging — Our  house  and  host — Christmas  Eve — 
Island  Tb  HaKin — Remains  of  the  temple — View  over  Naxia — 
The  harbour — St.  Dionysius  and  Dionysos — St.  Demetrius  and 
Demeter — Place  names — Arrival  of  the  steamer — The  cyclone — 
Our  miseries — Idleness  of  Naxiotes — Paying  visits — The  bishop 
explains  sacerdotal  robes — The  mariner's  love  song — Greek 
Christmas — We  surprise  the  nuns  of  St.  Chrysostom  .         .         .     336 

3.  In  the  Mountains  of  Naxos, 

Difficulties  of  the  road — The  soil  washed  down — The  wine  of  Dionysos 
— Richness  of  plain— A  lovely  villa — ^Three  villages  of  Potamia 
— We  halt  at  Mesopotamia — Luxuriance  of  country — Dreary  re- 
ception— Our  palace — Ancient  fortress — Legends  connected  with 
it — Hidden  treasure — We  quarrel  with  the  Potamiotes — The  vale 
of  Trajaia — Our  jovial  host  Gabalas — Beneath  our  bed — Churches 
at  Chalki — Gabalas'  riddle — Philoti,  our  tower  and  food — The 
kindly  priest — Robbers,  and  the  old  woman's  pig — Ill-natured 
legend — A  wine  syphon — Lovely  day — Ascent  of  Mount  Zia — 
The  cave  and  altar  of  Jupiter — The  binding  oath — ActryoXeov — 
The  tower  of  the  winter  torrent — Apeiranthos — Evil  appearance  of 
people — Our  friendly  host — Cretan  origin — Their  dialect  and  dress 
— The  lyre — Cold  mountain  ride — The  dancing  place  of  the  winds 
— Komiak^ — We  make  ourselves  at  home — Wretched  village — 
Kalkagari — Their  attributes — Colossal  statue  of  Apollo — The 
marble  hill— Unfinished  statues — A  death  and  its  cause — The 
funeral  and  the  wailing — The  obolos  for  Charon — Belief  in 
Charon — ^^  Convent  of  Phanerom^ne — Monkish  prudery — The 
narthex — Papa  Andreas  and  his  daughter — Gaiety  at  Engarrais — 
The  tirld  dance — Dance  of  the  Kalkagari — Games — XI^o-o — 
« Barrels '- Cock-fighting— Packsaddle— The '  bee  '—Old  dress— 
A  regTna — Tripodes  and  the  remains  near  it — Gabalas'  lamb — 
The  shoemaker  of  Leonides 344 


xviii  CONTEXTS, 


CHAPTER  XV. 

PAROS. 


PACK 


The  abundance  of  marble  and  ancient  remains — Paros  a  centre  of 
commerce  in  all  ages — Paroikia — Unhealthy  marsh — Names  of 
churches — The  drunken  St.  George — St.  Nicholas'  Eve — A 
fiovffovKiov  and  a  song — Insular  wit — The  men  and  candle-grease 
— We  share  our  meal — King  Otho*s  dilemma — The  Church  of  the 
Hundred  Gates — The  narthex,  the  chapels,  the  sanctuary,  and 
circular  apse — The  marble  baldacchino— St.  Theoctistas*  footstep 
and  spindle — Musical  challenge — Sarcophagi — Necropolis  of 
Paros — Amongst  the  ruins  of  Paroikia— The  temple  of  Demeter 
and  Miltiades — Houses  of  the  Crispis  and  Veniers — The  tramway 
— The  Belgian  marble  company — The  fychniUs — Beehives — The 
quarries — The  shafts — Signs  of  ancient  work — King  Otho's  visit 
— The  bas-relief — Leukis — The  church — Orange  and  lemon  groves 
— Superstition  about  wells  and  <npiy\Qu — More  about  Kalkagari 
— An  entertaining  evening  and  generous  host — Across  the  moun- 
tains— The  abyss — Kypedos  and  the  mediaeval  fortress — The 
church  and  its  decaying  decorations — Graves — Marmora  and 
temple  of  Marpessa — Naoussa  and  its  harbour  ....     372 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

I 

I  ANTIPAROS. 

I.    TTie  Island  and  the  Grotto. 

An  island  without  a  history — The  contempt  of  the  Pariotes — The  crows 
and  the  swans — The  pirates*  haunts — A  lucky  windfall — The 
wretched  town — The  priest — The  old  wizards  and  their  divina- 
tions— Dancing  and  song — Idleness — Visit  to  the  grotto — Ap- 
pearance of  mouth — Traces  of  antiquity — Perils  of  the  way — The 
illumination  and  effect — Popular  dread — Curious  belief — The  hall 
— Resemblance  to  a  church — M.  de  Nointel's  Christmas  mass — 
His  retinue — Their  names — King  Otho  again — The  ascent — Our 
offering  to  St.  John 394 

J  Note  on  the  Prehistoric  Remains  of  Antipatos:  Excavation 

'  and  discoveries — Difficulty  of  assigning  date — Argument 

1  from  analogy  of  remains  at  Santorin       .  ,         ,    403 


CONTENTS.  xix 


2.  Zeppo's  Story, 


PAGE 


Fishing  in  Greek  waters — 2^ppo*s  appearance — Explanation  of  locality 
— Despotiko  and  Strongylo — Octopus-fishing— Zeppo  begins  his 
story — Andronico's  mandra  and  the  church  —  Zeppo's  night 
therein — We  fish  with  d)niamite — Zeppo  and  the  robbers — We 
have  our  lunch — What  they  did  with  Zeppo — We  find  some  seals 
— Zeppo  on  Strongylo  line-fishing — The  scaros  and  its  gallantry — 
Tunny-fishing— The  sequel  of  the  story  from  Mrs.  Zeppo  .         .411 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

KYl'HNOS  (THERMli). 

Bay  of  Hagia  Eirene — A  departure  and  a  return— The  cafe  at  the  port 
— The  hot  baths  of  Thermit — The  new  building — Messarik — The 
Jew — Costumes — Wretched  town — Its  origin — Vicissitudes  of  a 
one-citied  island — The  Prankish  town— Legends  about  it — The 
Cretan  colonists — The  Virgin  of  Athens — VJiwa. — The  1st  of  March 
— The  swallow  festival — Customs  on  May  i — Good  Friday — New 
Year's  Eve — Charms — The  plague  of  Loutso — Former  fertility — 
Children's  ailments  and  novel  cures — Fevers  and  consumption — 
Religious  ideas — Serpents  in  houses — The  wine  and  the  cheese  of 
Kythnos— Cheese  Sunday — Bryocastro — Suggestion  as  to  name 
— The  washerwoman — The  old  town — The  Dragon's  House — 
Roman  days — The  false  Nero — Broukolakes — Curious  reservoir 
— Frankish  fortress — A  shepherd's  hut — Silakka — Its  position 
— The  demarch  receives  us — The  cave — Ideas  concerning  it — 
Veiling  the  face — A  cowardly  captain — March  and  its  fickleness    428 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

KEOS   (ZEA). 

Harbour — Connection  with  the  world — Barba  Manthos — Interview 
with  the  Custom  House  oflBcer — The  acorn  trade — Oaks  in  Keos 
— Koressia — The  good  road — The  Chora  of  Keos  and  its  view — 
Our  quarters — Curious  aspect  of  town — The  lion  of  Keos — Out- 
lying hamlets — The  farmer's  bundle — Ceremony  on  September  i 
— Granaries  in  the  ground — St.  Anarguris  and  the  sacrifice  on  July 
I — Expedition  to  Karthaia — ^The  mist — Cliffs  and  Nereids — Food 
placed  for  them — St.  Artemidos  and  diildren — The  oak  cure — 
The  position  of  Karthaia — The  remains — Keote  wine — Ruins  of 


XX  CONTENTS. 


TACK 

ancient  villages — Expedition  to  Poiessa — Convent  and  tower  of 
Hagia  Marina — King  Otho*s  depredation— Description  of  tower 
— An  interesting  old  man — Ghost  of  Manetas — The  evil  eye — 
Whitewash  crosses — Valley  of  Karadra — The  ruins  of  loulis — 
Thrift  of  Keotes — Convulsions  of  nature — The  miltos  mines  and 
harbour  of  Otzia — Adieu  to  Keos 448 

Note  on  the  Ruins  of  Four  Ancient  Cities  of  Keos :  I.  Koressia 

— 2.  loulis — 3.  Karthaia — 4.  Poiessa     ....     465 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

AMORGOS. 

I.  During  Easter  Week» 

Remoteness — The  Easter  feast — The  steamer  dangerous  to  old  customs 
— The  lower  town — Climb  to  the  upper — Big  rock — View  over 
island — Offerings  in  the  church — Costume — The  tourlos — The  caf<6 
— Mad  Spiro — The  demarch — Papa  Demetrios — Good  Friday — 
St.  Lazarus'  song — The  convent  of  Chozobiotissa — Extraordinary 
position — Danger  from  rocks — The  silver  eikons — Their  appear- 
ance— Easter  morning — Meeting  the  eikons — Conveying  them  to 
the  town — Monday's  expedition  up  Mount  Elias — Visit  to  St. 
George  Balsamitis — The  prophetic  source — When  popular — The 
church  of  the  oracle — Papa  Anatolios  opens  the  oracle  for  me — 
Tells  me  my  fate,  and  expounds  the  theory  by  which  he  regulates 
his  answers — The  origin  of  the  oracle — The  eikons  and  the  pro- 
cession come—  Kera  Maria's  incantations — The  eikons  at  the 
harbour — Papa  Manoulas'  house —Blessing  the  ships — EUister 
Sunday — Farewell  to  the  eikons — The  dance    ....    469 

2.   Through  the  Island, 

Papa  Demetrios'  house  and  treasures — *  God  empties  His  bowl ' — Old 
towers — Aigiale  and  the  Roman  remains — Tholaria — A  love 
potion — My  failure — ^Vigla  and  the  remains — Strymbo — Langada 
— Rope  walks — The  fortified  refuge — Wine  in  skins — A  riddle — 
Mountain  village — Ruins  of  Minoa — A  quaint  farmhouse  and  its 
contents — Gialou — Arkesini — Papa  Demetrios'  father — The  ruins 
— The  Madonna  of  Kastriani — Brytzi  and  its  hospitality — The 
ancient  tower — A  distillery — An  inscription — Olive-presses        .    488 


/ 


A 


THE    CYCLADES. 


CHAPTER   I. 

SERIPHOS. 

Everyone  landing  at  Seriphos  must  naturally  think 
of  those  frogs  which  Pliny  tells  us  were  always  silent 
here,  and  it  was  a  disappointment  to  me  when  I  heard 
them  croaking  gaily  on  the  little  plain  down  by  the 
harbour.  I  confess  I  believe  that  the  saying  about  the 
frogs  of  Seriphos  being  silent  referred  to  the  boorishness 
of  the  inhabitants  when  they  visited  Athens. 

Captain  Georgios  Hadgi  Nikolas  Ibelligeka,  into 
whose  hands  we  fell  on  landing,  was  anything  but  a 
silent  member  of  society,  and  before  many  days  were 
out  we  had  cause  to  regret  his  loquacity.  Captain 
George  we  called  him  for  short — the  rest  of  his  name 
was  so  very  long. 

The  rocks  were  the  second  thing  we  looked  at  at  Se-  » 
riphos,  and  as  we  did  so  we  thought  of  Danae  and  Perseus 
landing  here  in  a  chest,  and  being  received  by  King  Poly- 
dectes  with  all  hospitality ;  here  Perseus  left  Danae,  and 
when  after  a  successful  voyage  he  returned  with  Medusa's 
head,  and  found  King  Polydectes  making  love  to  Danae, 
he  forthwith  turned  him  and  all  the  Seriphiotes  into 
stones.  This  story  when  you  look  at  the  landscape  seems 
natural  enough,  for  Seriphos  is  an  island  with  lovely  out- 

B 


THE  CYCLADES, 


lines  ;  the  town  is  built  on  a  conical,  escarped  hill,  just 
above  the  harbour,  with  caves  and  rocks  all  over  it,  just  as 
the  inhabitants  were  standing  when  Perseus  petrified  them. 
Modern  white  houses  are  now  clinging  like  mussels  to 
these  rocks,  and  the  summit  is  crowned  with  the  remains 
of  a  mediaeval  castle.  Some  peasants  brought  us  some  old 
coins  with  Medusa's  head  on — the  old  coins  of  Seriphos, 
in  fact— and  with  the  usual  sharp-wittedness  of  their  race 
they  told  us  that  they  were  the  coins  of  the  first  queen 
of  Seriphos,  who  lived  up  at  yonder  castle. 

The  village  of  Livadhi,  by  the  harbour,  is  small  but 
tidy,  and  we  there  partook  of  refreshments  in  a  clean 
fisherman's  cottage  off  a  table  rudely  carved  with  all 
sorts  of  fish  designs.  The  ceilings  of  the  houses  are  here 
all  made  of  canes  placed  crosswise ;  on  the  top  of  this 
ceiling  they  put  seaweed,  and  on  the  top  of  the  seaweed 
mud,  which  is  carefully  pressed  and  rolled,  and  forms  the 
roof  of  the  one-storeyed  houses  ;  a  very  treacherous  roof, 
indeed,  in  wet  weather,  as  we  often  experienced. 

The  tiny  plain  down  by  the  harbour  is  a  pattern  of 
fertility.  There  is  a  well  in  each  field ;  pomegranates, 
figs,  and  almond  trees  abound  ;  another  feature  peculiar 
to  Seriphos  at  once  caught  the  eye :  every  proprietor  has 
his  grave  in  his  own  field,  built  like  a  little  shrine,  and  if 
he  sells  his  field  special  provision  in  the  articles  of  sale 
have  to  be  made  for  the  non-disturbance  of  ancestral 
bones.  This  custom  is  not  carried  on  in  any  other  of  the 
Cyclades,  and  reminded  us  of  the  days  when  an  Athenian 
possessor  of  land  left  directions  in  his  will  to  be  buried 
in  his  private  ground  (Demosthenes,  *  Euerg.'  p.  1159). 
Frequently,  too,  the  graves,  as  at  Seriphos  now,  were  by 
the  roadside.  The  family  sepulchre  of  Isocrates  was  near 
the  Cynosarges,  that  of  Thucydides  by  the  Melitic  Gate. 

We  climbed  up  the  steep  ascent  to  the  town  on  foot, 


SERIPHOS, 


as  did  the  rest  of  the  population  who  had  come  to  see 
the  steamer  arrive  :  women  carrying  their  babies  tied  to 
their  backs  with  string ;  fishermen  with  their  baskets  full 
of  fish,  now  in  great  request,  for  the  ante-Christmas  fast 
had  just  set  in  ;  and  by  our  side  our  new  host,  Captain 
George,  trotted,  pointing  out  each  object  of  interest  we 
passed.  *  This  is  the  tomb  of  So-and-so,  who  died  of  so- 
and-so,  and  was  the  father  of  Maria  So-and-so.  This  is 
the  Church  of  St.  Isidoros,  where  is  a  spring  of  warm 
water,  reckoned  excellent  for  the  health,  where  a  yearly 
panegyris  (a  festival)  is  held  ;  and  it  was  built  by  Sophia 
Makri,  who  was  asleep  and  dreamt  she  was  caught  by 
her  neck  by  St.  Isidoros  and  commanded  to  go  and 
\>uild  a  church  on  this  spot.  When  she  awoke  she  had 
it  built.  Come  in  and  have  a  glass  of  water ;  there  is 
iron  in  it.'  So  Captain  George  rambled  on.  I  followed 
him  in,  drank  some  exquisite  water,  and  recognised  why 
it  was  dedicated  to  St.  Isidoros,  because  aihrjposy  iron 
(according  to  modern  pronunciation)  suggested  one  of 
those  ecclesiastical  puns  in  which  the  Eastern  Church 
loves  to  indulge. 

Captain  George  here  paused  awhile  to  rest,  and  as  I 
scrutinised  our  new  acquaintance  I  felt  I  did  not  like 
him  ;  he  was  a  little  thick-set  man  with  an  evil  counte- 
nance, but  sparkling  with  intelligence.  Afterwards  I 
learnt  that  he  was  well  known  in  these  seas  as  an  expert 
smuggler,  who  would  have  been  a  pirate  if  he  had  lived 
fifty  years  ago.  He  had  just  got  a  nice  new  cafque 
painted  green,  and  his  plan  was  to  offer  us  hospitality 
and  to  persuade  us  to  take  his  boat  at  a  price  which 
would  pay  him  better  than  smuggling. 

We  went  on  a  little  further. 

*  Here  is  the  Church  of  St.  Tryphon,'  said  Captain 
George,  *  the  protector  of  agriculture.'     Not  knowing 

B  2 


THE  CYCLADES, 


much  about  St.  Tryphon  I  questioned  further,  and  found 
that  he  is  in  great  repute  here.  On  his  day  no  one  works 
or  cleans  out  his  house,  because  they  think  he  has  power 
over  rats  and  all  animals  hurtful  to  agriculture,  and  on 
St.  Tryphon*s  Day  the  Church  has  offices  and  prayers  for 
the  special  supplication  of  this  saint  to  ward  off  blight 
St.  Tryphon  must,  I  thought,  be  a  descendant  of  Apollo 
Smintheus,  who  was  worshipped  in  the  neighbouring  isle 
of  Keos. 

Captain  George's  house  was  a  new  one,  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  town,  really  quite  a  mansion  for  the  islands. 
You  enter  the  one  sitting  room  with  the  divan,  and  off 
this  are  several  little  boxes,  about  eight  feet  square, 
entered  by  gates  four  feet  high,  the  upper  part  being 
open  :  these  are  bedrooms.  Ours  had  a  thin  gauze  blind 
across  the  opening,  which  afforded  us  only  a  sorry 
attempt  at  seclusion. 

Captain  George's  wife  was  a  chattel,  and  a  very  unin- 
teresting piece  of  furniture,  too  ;  for  he  hounded  the  poor 
thing  about  until  she  looked  like  a  scared  mongrel.  She 
waited  upon  us  at  meals  and  never  took  a  part  in  them. 
She  cooked,  she  swept,  and  she  slaved  whilst  the  captain 
made  merry  with  his  guests.  The  wife  of  a  lower  class 
Greek  is  a  pitiable  object,  much  as  she  was  in  Hesiod's 
time,  who,  in  his  *  Works  and  Days,*  shows  us  a  wife's  con- 
dition then,  and  considered  it  the  worst  possible  feature 
of  a  bad  wife  to  wish  to  sit  at  meals  with  her  lord  and 
master.  Hesiod's  advice  to  a  young  man  starting  in  life 
would  apply  to  a  Greek  of  to-day  :  *  You  must  start  with 
a  house,  a  wife,  an  ox,  and  a  plough.'  Mrs.  Ibelligeka 
would  come  up  to  Hesiod's  standard. 

After  the  usual  slight  refreshmentsof  coffee,  jam,  and 
mastic,  we  were  joined  by  the  demarch,  a  priest,  and  a 
schoolmaster,  and  taken  forth  to  see  the  town.     Of  all 


SERIPHOS. 


towns  in  the  Greek  Islands,  Seriphos  will  remain  fixed 
in  my  mind  as  the  most  filthy.  The  main  street  is  a  sewer 
into  which  all  the  offal  is  thrown;  and  it  is  tenanted  by 
countless  pigs — for  each  householder  has  liberty  to  keep 
three.  What  the  nuisance  must  have  been  when  the 
number  was  unlimited  I  cannot  think.  Furthermore  this 
street  is  like  a  ladder  of  rocks,  and  the  pigs  in  their 
movements  are  as  nimble  as  goats,  most  dangerous  to 
the  peace  of  mind  of  the  pedestrian.  Sometimes  the 
street  is  not  two  feet  wide,  sometimes  it  is  expanded  to 
six  feet,  but  always  an  inch  deep  in  mire,  often  more. 

In  one  of  these  narrow  streets  on  the  Tuesday  after 
Easter  the  maidens  of  Seriphos  play  their  favourite  game 
of  the  swing  {kowlo).  They  hang  a  rope  from  one  wall  to 
the  other,  put  some  clothes  on  it,  and  swing,  singing  and 
swinging,  one  after  the  other.  Aware  of  this  the  young 
men  try  to  pass  by,  and  are  called  upon  for  a  toll  of  one 
penny  each,  a  song,  and  a  swing.  The  words  they  gene- 
rally use  are  as  follows  : — *  The  gold  is  swung,  the  silver 
is  swung,  and  swung,  too,  is  my  love  with  the  golden 
hair ; '  to  which  the  maiden  replies,  *  Who  is  it  that  swings 
me  that  I  may  gild  him  with  my  favour,  that  I  may 
work  him  a  fez  all  covered  with  pearls  ? '  Then,  having 
paid  his  penny,  he  is  permitted  to  pass,  and  another 
comes  on  and  does  likewise. 

The  houses  opening  on  to  this  street  were  mere  black- 
holes,  where  sat  families  shivering  round  charcoal  fires 
on  which  pots  full  of  ling  were  boiling  for  the  evening 
meal.  They  seemed  hospitably  inclined  towards  us,  for 
one  woman  ran  out  with  a  branch  of  myrtle  and  some 
basil,  which  she  handed  me  for  good  luck ;  rather  a  nui- 
sance, indeed,  for  the  ascent  demanded  all  one's  care. 
The  summit  of  the  hill,  and  the  castle  crowning  it,  were 
at  length  reached,  and  here  the  schoolmaster  showed  us 


THE  CYC  LADES, 


a  niche  in  which,  he  said,  once  stood  a  statue  of  a  king 
of  Seriphos,  which  the  English  had  taken  away.  I  asked 
for  further  particulars  about  this,  to  me,  unknown  royal 
house  of  Seriphos,  but  the  schoolmaster's  genius  for  in- 
vention would  lead  him  no  further.  He  had  not  the  face  to 
tell  me  that  it  was  a  statue  of  King  Polydectes.  Over  the 
gateway  to  the  castle  was  a  coat  of  arms,  and  1433  over 
it  ;  so  I  felt  convinced  that  the  schoolmaster  alluded  to 
a  statue  of  one  of  the  Latin  dukes  who  ruled  in  Seriphos. 
But,  though  the  English  have  been  great  robbers  in 
Greece  in  their  day,  I  question  if  anyone  ever  burdened 
himself  with  the  statue  of  a  Crispi  or  a  Sommaripa. 

The  Church  of  St.  Athanasius  was  worth  seeing,  being 
round  with  two  little  apses.  It  has  a  lovely  iconostasis, 
commonly  called  tempelon,  or  screen,  before  the  sanctuary, 
car\^ed  in  wood,  with  vine  tendrils,  and  festoons,  and 
niches  for  twenty  eikons,  or  sacred  pictures,  along  the 
top.  The  rock  on  which  the  town  is  built  goes  down 
straight  on  the  northern  side,  and  is  covered  with  a 
greenish  lichen,  which  contrasts  curiously  with  the  white 
houses  wedged  against  it. 

The  antiquities  left  in  Seriphos  do  not  point  to  any 
very  great  artistic  merit  in  the  days  of  old  ;  a  few  head- 
less statues  here  and  there,  fragments  of  pillars,  and  one 
solitary  sculpture  of  a  symposium  over  a  doorway  were 
all  the  traces  that  we  could  see  of  the  city  where  once 
dwelt  the  *  silent  frogs.* 

Next  morning  we  started  on  an  expedition  with  the 
object  of  visiting  a  convent  dedicated  to  the  Archangel 
Michael  and  a  remote  village  called  Galene  (peace) : 
Captain  George  was  to  be  our  guide.  He  had  nothing  to 
do,  he  said,  and  if  we  would  pay  for  a  mule  for  him 
nothing  would  give  him  greater  pleasure  than  to  do  the 
honours  of  his  island.  There  is  much  that  is  pretty  in 
the  steep  slopes  of  Seriphos,  though  the  island,  except 


SERIPHOS. 


near  the  town,  is  bare  ;  for  at  this  time  of  year  the  vine- 
yards were  brown,  and  the  long,  straggling  vines,  which 
in  the  islands  are  trained  along  the  ground  to  get  what 
protection  they  can  from  the  summer  winds,  do  not  in 
winter  present  a  very  lovely  appearance.  Seriphos  is 
noted  for  its  wine,  and  it  is  one  of  the  chief  industries 
of  the  place.  Each  vineyard  has  its  wine-press  in  it 
(jraTSTTipLov) :  these  are  just  whitewashed  tanks  out  of 
which  the  juice  of  the  grapes  when  trampled  on  flows 
into  a  lower  tank  ;  all  round  were  thrown  the  remnants  of 
stalks  and  skins  from  the  late  vintage  and  the  hard  matter 
which  had  been  extracted  from  the  compressed  pulp. 

After  extracting  the  juice  in  this  manner  they  boil 
It  for  a  month  before  it  is  considered  fit  to  drink ;  and 
the  day  of  St  Minas,  in  November,  is  considered  as  the 
proper  one  on  which  to  stop  boiling  the  wine  (aTrafipd^co)  ; 
and  on  this  day  all  the  well-known  wine-tasters  of  the 
place  repair  to  the  vats  and  expect  a  present  of  wine 
straight  out  of  them  as  an  incentive  to  approve. 

In  July,  when  the  firstfruits  of  the  vintage  are  sup- 
posed to  be  ready,  they  throw  a  bunch  of  grapes  into 
their  houses,  thinking  thereby  to  rid  them  of  rats  and 
other  vermin,  saying,  as  they  do  so,  *  The  black  grape 
will  sicken,  the  black  grape  will  poison.  Out  with  you, 
fleas  and  rats  !  *  And  on  August  6,  when  the  vintage 
begins,  the  Church  has  special  offices  and  prayers  for  the 
success  of  the  same. 

In  connection  with  the  planting  of  vineyards  they  W 
have  quite  a  Bacchic  festival  in  Seriphos.  On  one  of  the 
many  feast-days  of  the  Virgin  after  matins  are  over  the 
man  who  desires  to  plant  a  new  vineyard  calls  together 
fifty  or  more  men,  according  to  the  size  of  the  field  which 
he  intends  to  plant.  To  each  man  he  hands  a  spade, 
and  then  he  fills  skins  with  wine,  and  has  joints  of  goat's 


8  THE  CYC  LADES. 


flesh,  which  have  been  roasted  for  the  occasion,  brought 
out,  and  the  company  start  off  in  high  glee,  singing  as 
they  go  and  preceded  by  a  standard-bearer  holding  a 
white  banner.  During  their  interval  of  rest  they  con- 
sume the  goats  and  the  wine,  and  then  work  till  the  vine- 
yard is  planted — for  it  must  all  be  done  in  one  day — 
and  in  the  evening  they  return  home,  with  their  spades, 
their  hoes,  and  the  wine-skins  empty,  somewhat  the 
merrier  for  having  imbibed  the  contents.  At  a  spot 
called  Panagia,  before  the  Virgin's  Church,  the  white 
standard  is  set  up,  and  the  Seriphiotes  enjoy  a  dance 
that  evening  in  which  the  vineyard-planters  join. 

A  somewhat  similar  co-operation  is  customary  in 
Seriphos  when  the  first  rains  of  October  fall.  All  the 
husbandmen  meet  together  to  assist  one  another  at  the 
forges  in  preparing  their  implements  of  husbandry  for 
the  coming  season.  They  come  with  their  spades,  their 
ploughs,  and  their  mattocks,  and  they  come  prepared, 
too,  to  have  a  festive  gathering;  and  every  evening  until 
the  work  is  done  they  have  drinking  parties,  regular 
symposia,  now  called  rh  ^rsicurifuiTa. 

Another  custom  connected  with  husbandry  still  in 
vogue  in  Seriphos  is  that  on  September  14,  the  Day  of 
the  Cross.  Farmers  take  a  little  of  the  grain  which  is 
about  shortly  to  be  sown  and  a  rose  with  them  to  church. 
These  things  are  blessed  in  the  liturgy.  The  rose  is 
broken  up  and  scattered  about  in  the  first  field  which 
is  sown  that  year  as  a  sure  emblem  of  abundance  and 
success.  This  is  a  trace  of  the  ancient  irporjpSaiai,  or 
sacrifices  before  the  sowing  of  seed,  to  ensure  a  produc- 
tive harvest. 

Captain  George  was  most  communicative  about  the 
ways  of  his  country,  as  were  also  the  muleteers  who 
accompanied  us,  and  supplied  any  knowledge  in  which 


SERIPHOS, 


Captain  George  was  wanting.  One  of  them,  a  stalwart 
fellow  with  grizzled  hair,  suddenly  put  me  a  question 
which  puzzled  me  not  a  little. 

*  Did  you  ever  hear  of  the  transfiguration  basket,  sir  ? ' 
The  man  was  difficult  to  understand,  the  Seriphiote 

dialect  bemg  full  of  obscure  words;  and  not  until  Captain 
George  had  come  to  my  assistance  did  I  comprehend 
what  was  meant.  And  he  put  it  as  follows  into  intelli- 
gible Greek  for  my  benefit. 

*  On  the  day  of  our  Saviour's  transfiguration  all  faith- 
ful Seriphiotes  believe  that  a  basket  is  let  down  from 
heaven,  full  of  all  manner  of  good  things,  for  the  man 
who  is  lucky  enough  to  be  the  first  to  see  it ;  but  he  must 
be  very  quick  in  asking  for  what  he  wants,  for  the  basket 
is  immediately  drawn  up  again,  and  the  gift  is  not  forth- 
coming.' 

As  a  confirmation  of  this  story,  the  muleteer  went 
on  to  relate  how  a  shepherd  had  once  seen  this  basket 
descending,  and,  thinking  hurriedly  in  his  mind  that 
money  would  be  the  best  thing  to  have,  he  cried  out  in 
all  haste,  *  Two  thousand  (;^iX.ta),'  and  was  going  to  add 
florins,  when  two  jars,  called  here  ;)^eft\Aa,  from  x^tXo^,  a 
brim,  fell  from  the  basket  at  his  feet. 

This  story  ought  to  be  a  warning  to  the  Greeks 
generally  to  alter  their  pronunciation  ;  for  when  nearly 
all  the  vowels  and  diphthongs  are  pronounced  like  ^,  that 
is  to  say,  t,  77,  bl^  ol,  v,  other  people  are  puzzled  who  are 
less  hurried  visitors  than  the  heavenly  basket. 

By  this  time  we  were  nearing  the  convent  of  the 
archangel.  From  a  distance  it  looked  like  a  fortress ; 
around  it  is  a  high  wall  with  battlements,  and  a  terrace 
inside,  from  which  in  those  old  troublous  times  the  monks 
could  fight.  Beneath  the  terrace  are  the  cells,  and  in  the 
centre  of  the  square  is  the  church.   There  are  four  towers 


lo  THE  CYCLADES. 

at  each  end  of  the  walls,  one  of  which  is  now  converted 
into  a  dovecote.  The  entrance  is  exceedingly  low,  only 
about  four  feet  high,  at  the  top  of  a  flight  of  steps,  which 
have  been  added  since  the  days  of  pirates.  Formerly  it 
was  approached  only  by  a  wooden  staircase,  which  could 
be  drawn  up.  In  the  door  is  a  most  extraordinary  bolt 
and  wooden  key,  being  a  long  bit  of  jagged  wood,  which 
is  shoved  into  the  bolt,  and  fits  itself  with  a  jerk  into  the 
required  place ;  but  it  requires  practice  to  work  these 
locks.  The  ceiling  of  the  porch  was  all  crisscross  reed- 
work,  like  the  houses,  and  from  it  were  hung  the  scales, 
with  which  they  weighed  the  produce  of  the  fields  let 
out  to  husbandmen. 

The  church  is  old  and  interesting,  being  round  and 
vaulted,  evidently  much  earlier  than  the  date  over  the 
door,  1447,  which  was  of  marble,  and  with  rudely  carved 
grape  tendrils,  with  leaves  painted  green,  stalks  painted 
brown,  and  the  background  yellow,  climbing  up  the  jambs, 
above  which  were  two  birds  on  two  poplars  and  an  in- 
scription describing  the  might  of  the  archangel. 

Inside  the  church  was  beautifully  frescoed,  having 
round  it  a  frieze  of  saints,  full  length,  over  a  dado  of  dra- 
pery* The  vaulted  roof  was  covered  with  biblical  scenes, 
and  on  the  entrance  wall  was  the  usual  terrible  fresco  of 
St.  Michael,  and  on  the  left  those  awful  representations 
of  hell  so  common  in  Byzantine  churches.  There  is 
the  fiery  river  with  its  inscription  on  a  scroll  (d  irvptvo9 
irorafios) ;  kings,  bishops,  &c.  are  engulfed  in  a  dragon's 
mouth  ;  the  proud  man,  labelled  6  irspi<f>avoSy  is  hung  by 
his  feet  from  a  tree ;  the  evil  speaker  (d  KardKaXriTrisi) 
is  dragged  by  his  feet,  whilst  a  demon  follows  him,  shov- 
ing a  spear  down  his  throat ;  the  glutton  is  being 
slapped  by  two  demons  at  the  same  time  on  the  stomach 
and  on  the  mouth  ;  the  drunkard  is  head  downwards  to 


SERIPHOS.  II 


let  the  wine  run  out  ;  those  who  cannot  get  up  for  early- 
mass  on  Sundays  are  lying  in  bed  like  dead  men,  with 
elegant  coverlets  over  them  ;  and  the  tortures  of  the 
woman  who  has  nourished  a  foreigner  are  horrible  to 
behold  :  a  fitting  subject  for  contemplation  in  these 
islands,  from  whence  the  female  population  has  gone,  at 
one  time  or  another,  to  the  Turkish  towns  as  servants  or 
to  fill  the  harems. 

The  poor  old  monk  who  accompanied  us  was  in  a 
great  state  of  grief  that  his  superior  was  absent ;  however 
we  satisfied  him  by  promising  to  look  in  again  on  our 
return  from  Galene.  He  was  such  a  queer  old  wretch, 
with  bare  legs,  baggy  blue  trousers,  blue  cotton  jacket 
lined  with  filthy  fur,  and  a  black  cap  on  his  head,  by 
which  alone  we  knew  him  to  be  a  monk.  His  poor 
head  was  all  on  one  side,  and  surrounded  by  a  large  crop 
of  unkempt  grizzled  hair.  Most  of  these  monks  are  little 
above  peasants  ;  they  go  into  the  monasteries,  instead  of 
the  workhouse,  when  too  old  and  infirm  to  work,  and 
take  a  vow  to  observe  celibacy  and  let  their  hair  grow. 
In  Greece,  as  with  us,  the  proverb  is  common,  *When 
the  devil  grows  old  he  becomes  a  monk.'  They  till  the 
ground  belonging  to  the  monastery  and  do  all  the  menial 
offices,  carrying  out  thereby  the  advice  of  an  Egyptian 
father  who  taught  that  a  labouring  monk  was  tempted 
Qbut/b)).  one  devil,  whilst  an  idle  one  was  exposed  to  the 
devastation  of  a  legion. 

The  village  of  Galene  was  about  a  mile  from  the 
convent,  in  a  valley  to  the  north  of  Seriphos.  From  above 
it  looked  like  a  giant's  staircase,  one  house  below  the 
other.  There  is  iron  in  the  soil  about  here,  and  the  roofs, 
made  of  mud,  have  tinged  the  houses  with  a  bright  and 
picturesque  yellow  from  the  iron  that  is  in  it.  Few  places 
in  the  world  can  be  more  out  of  the  world  than  this ;  we 


12  THE  CYC  LADES. 

literally  scrambled  down  a  precipitous  path,  which  formed 
the  street,  and  went  to  the  demarches  house,  an  old  man, 
eighty-five  years  of  age,  by  name  Kousoupis.  He  greeted 
us  warmly,  and  said  he  had  had  a  presentiment  {opafia) 
the  previous  day  that  strangers  would  come,  so  he  had 
ordered  his  daughter  to  bake  more  bread.  We  saw  at 
a  glance  that  we  were  launched  into  a  thoroughly  old- 
world,  superstitious  family,  and  acted  accordingly. 

Old  Kousoupis,  however,  in  his  day  had  seen  some- 
thing of  the  world ;  he  had  fought  in  his  country's  wars, 
and  had  been  present  when  Otho  arrived  as  the  first 
king  of  the  Hellenes.  Nevertheless  he  remained  what  he 
was  born,  an  uncultured,  intensely  superstitious  Greek. 
*  I  have  presentiments,'  said  he,  *  for  everything  that 
will  happen.  Before  I  was  elected,  demarch  I  had  a 
presentiment;  before  my  wife  died,  twelve  years  ago, 
I  was  helping  a  shipwrecked  crew  down  in  the  harbour 
of  Sicanna,  and  I  saw  a  vision  ;  and  though  the  captain 
of  the  ship  begged  me  to  remain  to  protect  him  from 
pirates,  being  a  man  of  influence,  yet  I  felt  obliged  to 
come  home  on  account  of  my  vision  ;  and  then  I  found 
my  poor  wife  about  to  deliver  up  her  soul,  which  she 
did  almost  immediately  afterwards  in  my  arms.' 

'Do  you  believe  in  the  existence  of  Nereids?'  I 
mildly  asked.  And  forthwith  the  tongues  of  the  whole 
family  were  loosed. 

Now  much  has  been  written  about  the  Nereids  of 
modern  Greece.  Various  stories  from  various  parts  of 
modern  Hellas  have  been  produced,  which  give  us  a  varied 
idea  of  the  belief  in  these  mysterious  beings.  First  we 
have  the  Nereids  of  the  streams,  and  the  Nereids,  properly 
so  called,  are  water  witches  (vspo^  vepsvs),  and  they  corre- 
spond to  the  water  nymphs  of  antiquity.  Wherever  there 
is  a  warm  healing  stream  they  believe  that  it  flows  from 


SERJPHOS.  13 


the  breasts  of  the  Nereids.  But  he  that  wishes  to  be 
cured,  must  go  holding  a  green  lamp  to  fill  his  jar,  and 
must  leave  a  bit  of  his  dress  there,  and  must  hurry  away 
without  looking  back,  otherwise  he  will  lose  his  senses. 
When  these  waters  are  troubled  they  say  the  Nereids 
have  been  bathing,  and  woe  to  the  man  who  is  unlucky 
enough  to,  see  them ;  they  revenge  themselves  on  him  for 
his  impertinent  beholding.  Then  we  have  the  Nereids 
of  the  woods,  valleys,  cliffs,  &c.  ;  the  Dryads  and  Hama- 
dryads of  antiquity.  We  hear  of  them  with  goats'  and 
asses*  feet,  some  resembling  the  Satyrs,  others  the  Harpies 
of  antiquity.  On  their  heads  they  wear  flowing  scarves, 
like  the  old-fashioned  costumes  still  preserved  in  some 
of  the  islands.  They  are  supposed  to  rush  in  a  whirlwind 
through  the  air,  they  injure  children,  they  dance  to  the 
tune  of  the  lyre  played  by  some  wretched  man  whom 
they  have  smitten,  and  by  their  beauty  they  attract  men 
to  their  peril  {yvfi^okrjirTos).  Sometimes  by  getting  their 
wings  or  their  handkerchiefs  a  man  may  capture  a 
Nereid  with  whom  he  is  smitten  ;  but  first  she  will  turn 
into  all  sorts  of  forms  ;  a  snake,  fire,  camels,  &c.  like 
the  old  story  of  Peleus  and  Thetis  ;  and  he  may  have 
children  by  her — for  instance,  the  great  family  of  Mavro 
Michaelis  of  Manes  are  supposed  to  have  Nereid  blood 
in  their  veins.  Much  poetry  is  connected  with  the 
popular  idea  of  the  Nereids:  their  smiles  turn  into 
roses,  their  tears  into  pearls,  they  have  lovely  long  hair. 
*  Beautiful  as  a  Nereid '  is  a  common  term  to  express 
beauty.  Their  work  is  weaving,  and  they  produce  most 
exquisite  things ;  as  they  work  a  man  they  have  bewitched 
plays  the  lyre  to  them.  Such  are  the  Nereids  of  to-day. 
Some  of  the  tales  about  them  which  I  heard  in  my 
travels  I  will  relate,  having  the  value  of  being  identified 
as  really  existing. 


14  THE  CYC  LADES, 


No  sooner  had  we  spoken  of  Nereids  than  the 
demarch's  daughter,  a  woman  of  fifty  or  more,  at  once 
developed  a  desire  to  talk  and  tell  her  story  as  to  what 
had  happened  to  her  as  she  was  staying  in  Constantinople 
with  a  cousin  of  hers  who  had  just  had  a  lovely  child, 
which  had  become  ugly  owing  to  the  influence  of  the 
Nereids  ;  so  the  mother  was  determined  to  take  the 
child  and  lay  it  on  a  marble  monument  in  St.  George's 
Church.  Having  done  this  she  laid  it  on  a  grave  for  a 
while  and  took  Miss  Kousoupis  with  her  without  tell- 
ing her  anything  about  it.  The  child  was  left  for  five 
minutes  on  the  grave,  and  then  the  mother  gave  it  to 
Miss  Kousoupis  to  carry ;  and  as  they  went  away,  owing 
to  the  mother  having  given  Miss  Kousoupis  no  notice  of 
what  she  was  doing,  she  looked  round,  and  the  child  died 
in  a  fortnight,  and  she  herself  suffered  from  headache, 
giddiness,  and  general  wasting,  and  was  brought  back  to 
Seriphos  in  a  dying  state.  So  her  mother  took  her  to 
the  monastery  of  the  archangel,  where  we  had  just  been, 
and  there  they  lived  for  forty  days  until  she  recovered;  but 
even  now  she  said  she  was  liable  to  fits  of  faintness  and 
giddiness.  Here  in  one  story  we  have  two  ancient  ideas 
combined :  the  baneful  influence  of  the  Nereids  on  the 
young,  and  the  prevalent  idea  that  illness  can  be  cured 
by  lying  in  churches.  The  vividness  of  the  narration 
and  the  excitement  of  the  narrator  quite  convinced  me 
that  she  believed  that  what  she  was  telling  me  was  true. 

Seeing  we  were  interested  in  this  subject,  the  demarch 
sent  for  an  old  woman  popularly  believed  at  Galene  to 
be  one  hundred  years  old.  Her  sobriquet  was  Plyntes, 
for  in  her  youthful  days  she  had  been  employed  in 
washing  out  the  wine- vats  after  the  process  of  treading 
the  grapes  was  over.  Such  a  wrinkled  piece  of  goods  I 
never  saw.    She  had  on  a  white  cap  drawn  forwards  over 


SERIPHOS,  15 


her  eyes,  so  that  only  the  nose  and  chin  could  be  seen 
en  profile.  Over  this  was  a  shawl  tied  round  her  chin  ; 
she  had  on  a  snuff-coloured  short  petticoat,  stockings  to 
match,  a  fur  jacket,  and  over  it  a  wide  coat  of  brown 
Dutch  carpet.  She  hobbled  in,  and  seemed  terrified  of 
us,  crossing  herself  lest  we  should  cast  on  her  the  evil 
eye.  She  would  not  speak  a  word  at  first,  in  spite  of  the 
demarches  assurances  that  our  intentions  were  peaceable. 
She  almost  shrieked  when  he  spoke  about  Nereids,  started 
up,  and  prepared  to  hobble  away,  but  was  persuaded  to 
return.     Again  when  the  question  was  put  she  asserted, 

*  I  know  nothing,'  shut  her  eyes,  and  groaned,  and  then, 
turning  to  our,  by  no  means  juvenile,  host,  she  murmured, 

*  My  little  boy,  what  are  they  going  to  do  to  me  ? '  There- 
upon everyone  set  to  work  to  console  her  and  stroke  her, 
assuring  her  that  the  English  meant  no  harm  ;  so  she  at 
length  told  her  tale  in  a  low  voice,  which  had  to  be  trans- 
lated to  me  from  the  dialect. 

*  Years  ago  Michael  Kappazacharias  was  digging  in 
his  vineyard  near  St.  Cyprian's  Church.'  Here  she  grew 
frightened  again,  and  crossed  herself  violently  before 
continuing,  *  Well,  it  was  a  very  calm,  still  day,  when 
suddenly  a  whirlwind  came  and  carried  him  to  some 
distance  ;  and  as  he  was  being  borne  along  he  felt  the 
firm  grip  of  the  Nereids.  Shortly  afterwards  he  was 
found  lying  senseless,  and  carried  in  that  state  to  the 
village.'  In  this  story  we  had  the  Nereids  of  the  storm, 
like  the  Harpies  of  old,  who  carried  off  the  daughter  of 
Pandareos  from  the  halls  of  Olympus  in  a  rushing  wind, 
such  a  wind  as  Penelope  longed  for  to  carry  her  away  to 
get  relief  from  the  troubles  which  surrounded  her. 

On  our  climb  up  the  village  the  demarch  made  us 
pay  a  visit  to  his  brother-in-law,  Stavris  by  name,  and 
father  of  the  superior  of  the  archangel's  convent.     He 


i6  THE  CYCLADES, 


was  in  bed  wrapped  up  in  very  rough  blankets,  and  a 
coat  over  his  shoulders  of  a  brown  carpet  material.  He 
was  delighted  to  see  us,  and  apologised  for  being  in  bed, 
saying  that  he  was  not  ill,  but  having  walked  about  for 
ninety  years  his  feet  hurt  him,  and  he  suffered  from  the 
cold.  There  was  another  bed  in  the  room,  reaching  from 
side  to  side,  like  the  berth  of  a  ship,  with  a  curtain  across 
it  tied  back  with  a  ribbon,  where  several  generations  of 
his  descendants  slept. 

More  stories  of  Nereids  were  here  forthcoming,  the 
demarch  being  determined  that  Galene  should  for  ever 
be  associated  in  our  minds  with  those  mysterious  beings. 
Old  Stavris  told  us  how  he  and  a  well-to-do  man  be- 
longing to  Seriphos  were  once  sleeping  for  the  night  in  a 
cowshed,  being  benighted  on  their  way.  During  the  night 
old  Stavris  awoke,  and  saw  men  approaching  with  great 
horns  on  their  heads,  both  of  whom  he  knew  to  be  dead. 
One  of  them  said,  *  Stavris,  if  you  had  not  been  here  we 
should  have  run  the  rich  man  through  with  our  horns.' 
In  spite  of  their  asseverations  to  the  contrary,  I  had  not 
the  least  doubt  in  my  mind  that  some  vagabonds  had 
come  to  steal  the  cattle  or  rob  the  rich  man  ;  for  similar 
stories  of  this  means  used  by  pirates  to  terrify  weak- 
minded  peasants  are  common  enough  in  the  islands. 

We  called  at  the  archangel's  convent  again  on  our 
way  home,  where  the  superior  was  prepared  to  receive 
us  in  the  guest  room  and  to  regale  us  with  coffee  and 
jam.  He  showed  us  all  the  old  convent  books,  which 
were  being  rapidly  consumed  by  damp  and  worms,  and 
then  took  us  to  see  the  church  again  under  his  own 
guidance,  telling  us  the  history  of  various  gifts  to  the 
Church — lamps,  eikons,  &c. 

The  story  of  two  hanging  lamps  interested  us.  He 
said  they  had  been  given  by  a  sea  captain  in  fulfilment  of 


SERIPHOS.  17 


the  following  vow.  Two  sailors  from  his  ship  had  stolen 
two  lamps  from  this  church,  and  then  embarked  with 
them  on  their  return  journey  ;  but  when  the  ship  had  got 
a  little  way  from  Seriphos  it  refused  to  move,  though 
the  wind  was  fair  and  the  sails  unfurled.  At  length  a 
pigeon  came  and  perched  on  the  top  of  the  mast,  which 
the  captain  tried  to  shoot,  but  he  could  not  A  sailor 
then  climbed  the  mast  to  see  if  he  could  catch  the  bird, 
but  it  plucked  out  his  eye.  So  the  captain  was  awe- 
struck, and  said,  *  What  wrong  is  this  on  my  ship  ? ' 
and  the  two  guilty  sailors  in  terror  confessed  their  theft. 
*  Throw  out  the  lamps,'  said  the  captain,  *  and  I  vow  to 
give  two  new  ones  to  the  archangel ;  '  whereupon  the 
ship  sailed  on  her  course.  Twelve  months  afterwards,  at 
the  festival  of  the  archangel,  he  returned  with  the  lamps. 

*  What  do  you  think  would  have  happened  to  him  if 
he  had  forgotten  his  vow  ?  *  I  asked  hesitatingly.  *  Well, 
sir,'  he  replied,  *to  prove  to  you  that  the  archangel 
makes  a  man  keep  his  vow,  I  will  tell  you  the  story  of  a 
man  of  Galene  who  was  ill,  and  promised  an  ox  to  the 
convent  if  he  recovered.  The  man  got  better,  but  forgot 
to  keep  his  vow.  One  day  he  was  returning  from  his 
work,  and  found  himself  surrounded  by  a  lake,  so  that 
he  could  go  neither  backwards  nor  forwards  ;  and  in  his 
distress  he  cried,  "  O  my  archangel !  if  you  will  remove 
this  lake  from  around  me  I  will  give  you  two  oxen/ 
And  sure  enough  next  day  he  knocked  at  the  convent 
door  with  the  two  promised  oxen.' 

Surely  it  is  hardly  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  peo- 
ple continue  their  belief  in  the  supernatural  if  their 
religious  instructors  preach  to  them  in  this  fashion. 

Our  journey  home  was  a  pleasant  one.  We  passed 
through  another  village  called  Kalosis,  when  all  the  in- 
habitants came  out  to  see  us,  and  pressed  us  to  receive 

c 


i8  THE  CYCLASES. 


hospitality  in  their  houses ;  but  as  evening  was  coming 
on  we  politely  refused,  so  they  satisfied  their  hospitable 
appetite  by  bursting  opr  pockets  with  presents  of  oranges, 
melons,  and  nuts,  and  by  giving  us  bouquets  of  flowers, 
which  rather  embarrassed  us  on  muleback. 

During  our  absence  the  captain's  wife  had  prepared 
us  an  excellent  repast — macaroni  and  cheese  enough 
to  feed  a  regiment,  a  tender  fowl  (for  a  wonder !),  and  a 
salad  dressed  to  perfection. 

That  night  a  fearful  thunderstorm  made  of  the  main 
street  of  Seriphos  a  perfect  mud  cascade ;  the  plain 
below  was  the  receptacle  of  all  this  excellent  manure. 
No  wonder  it  is  green  and  fertile. 

After  the  rain  had  ceased  we  set  off  for  another 
point  on  the  island,  and  on  our  way  visited  the  long  line 
of  windmills  which  stretches  up  the  hillside  behind  the 
town.  Two  of  these  are  draught  mills,  circular  ones,  with 
an  upper  storey  without  a  roof.  There  are  two  openings, 
one  to  the  north,  another  to  the  south,  and  inside  are  six 
flaps,  which  catch  the  wind  and  turn  this  upper  storey 
round  and  round,  and  in  so  doing  the  corn  in  the  lower 
storey  is  ground.  These  draught  mills  are  much  thought 
of  in  this  windy  isle,  and  reckoned  superior  to,  though  not 
so  picturesque  as,  those  with  sails.  Pursuing  our  course, 
we  next  climbed  to  a  spot  where  there  is  a  long  ancient 
inscription  cut  on  the  smooth  rock,  very  difficult  of 
access,  and  which  was  only  discovered  by  a  peasant  last 
year.     It  is  in  large  badly  formed  letters  as  follows : — 

HENTE   AH'   EMOT  HENTE   AHO   SOT 
0H2ATPON     OPTFE. 

What  can  this  mean,  '  Five  from  me,  five  from  you, 
dig  up  a  treasure'?  Does  it  refer  to  the  mines  of 
Seriphos,  and  a  co-operation  for  the  purpose  of  working 


SERJPHOS,  19 


them  ;  or  was  it  written  by  one  of  those  Roman  exiles 
who  were  sent  to  die  in  Seriphos — Cassius  Severus, 
the  orator,  for  instance,  who  Tacitus  tells  us  '  grew  old 
on  the  rock  of  Seriphos '  {saxo  Seriphio  consenuif)  ? 

The  view  from  this  spot  is  grand  and  extraordinary  : 
the  town  was  below  us,  the  plain  still  lower,  and  the 
island-dotted  sea  stretched  around  us.  Just  outside  the 
harbour  is  Seriphos*  Chicken  (Serphopoulo),  a  barren 
rock,  where  in  summer  time  herdsmen  take  their  flocks  ; 
beyond  is  Siphnos,  our  next  goal. 

After  trudging  on  for  about  a  mile  beyond  this  in- 
scription we  were  shown  a  magnet  mine,  where  the 
earth  sticks  to  the  point  of  your  knife.  Could  this  be 
the  treasure  to  which  the  inscription  alludes  ?  I  think 
so.  There  are  a  few  traces  of  ancient  buildings  near 
this  spot — a  few  broken  bits  of  columns  and  a  white 
marble  lion  stuck  as  an  ornament  at  the  top  of  a  low 
mud-roofed  church. 

From  here  to  the  white  watch  tower,  on  the  south- 
west of  Seriphos,  is  a  considerable  ride,  and,  except  from 
an  archaeological  point  of  view,  not  a  repaying  one. 
There  is  a  good  harbour  close  to  this  tower,  still  called  by 
its  Italian  name  Porto  Catena,  for  in  Italian  days  there  was 
a  chain  across  the  mouth  to  protect  the  ships  inside,  like 
the  one  they  had  at  Pisa  ;  and  from  here  ships  still  fetch 
iron  from  the  mines.  As  we  went  our  muleteer  sang  us 
the  song  of  the  white  tower,  which  tells  its  modern  legend 
— how  the  Turks  laid  siege  to  it  for  twelve  years,  and  how 
at  length  an  old  woman  was  persuaded  to  show  them  the 
source  of  water  which  kept  the  garrison  alive  ;  after  this 
it  was  taken.  It  is  a  pretty  quaint  ballad — the  modern 
Greeks  have  all  their  old  war  legends  in  verse  like  this, 
and  thus  hand  them  down  as  traditions  from  father  to 

son,  just  as  their  ancestors  did  in  the  days  of  Homer. 

c  2 


20  THE  CYCLADES, 


As  for  the  ruin  itself  it  is  one  of  those  numerous 
round  Hellenic  towers  of  white  marble,  about  thirty  feet 
in  diameter.  Evidently  in  ancient  times  they  got  iron 
from  here,  and  this  tower  was  built  to  protect  the  ships. 

It  was  not  until  we  wished  to  leave  Seriphos  that  we 
really  began  to  dislike  Captain  George.  It  was  a  wet 
morning,  but  cleared  up  about  midday,  so  we  got  ready 
to  start,  and  were  greeted  as  usual  by  intimations  that 
night  was  coming  on.  We  were  firm,  however,  and  at 
last  got  ourselves  and  our  traps  conveyed  to  the  harbouri 
Captain  George  having  previously  told  us  that  his  boat 
was  ready ;  but  it  was  not,  the  canvas  bulwarks  were 
not  even  nailed  on.  His  eloquence  now  took  the  form  of 
inventing  one  futile  excuse  after  another  ;  there  was  no 
oil,  no  bread  for  the  men,  and  these  things  must  be 
fetched  from  the  town.  Everyone,  of  course,  took  his 
side,  and  we,  poor  foreigners,  had  to  exercise  all  our  firm- 
ness. We  told  him  to  dance  on  his  plate,  an  expression 
in  vogue  for  quickness.  We  positively  refused  to  enter 
the  house  they  proposed  that  we  should  spend  the  night 
in.  Three  whole  hours  we  consumed  thus  idly,  and 
at  last,  at  four  o*clock,  when  it  was  really  getting  late, 
Captain  George  reluctantly  consented  to  start ;  and  as 
we  sailed  off  for  our  journey  of  eight  miles  with  a  favour- 
able wind  we  heard  ominous  whispers  of  winter,  night, 
dark,  Boreas,  calm,  whirlwind,  and  all  the  terrors  that 
could  be  invented. 

Until  we  were  close  upon  Siphnos  the  wind  was 
favourable  ;  and,  oh !  if  we  had  but  started  an  hour  earlier 
all  would  have  been  right ;  as  it  was,  a  persistent  calm 
set  in,  and  Siphnos,  like  St.  Brandon's  Isle,  hovered  for 
weary  dark  hours,  now  before  us,  now  behind  us,  as  we 
tacked  and  struggled  for  a  breath  of  wind. 


CHAPTER   II. 

SIPHNOS. 

St.  Brandon's  Isle  was  reached  at  last,  and  with  the 
aid  of  oars  and  a  fitfully  flapping  sail  we  entered  the 
little  harbour  of  Cherinesos  shortly  after  midnight. 
Captain  George  took  an  infinite  pleasure  in  teasing  us 
just  now.  '  Rascally  men  here,'  he  said  ; '  those  sponge- 
fishers  will  cut  our  throats  and  be  off  before  morning  ; ' 
and  as  we  glided  on  we  passed  several  sponge-fishing 
boats  from  Hydra  done  up  for  the  night.  They  had 
made  a  tent  with  their  sail  across  their  trident  (Ktifui^  and 
were  sleeping  under  it.  This  trident  is  for  loosening  and 
hooking  up  the  sponges,  and  has  in  this  case  eleven 
prongs — not  three,  but  still  it  has  the  old  word  xd/^a^ 
attached  to  it.'  Sometimes  a  Ka/ui^  has  only  five  prongs, 
with  hooks  at  the  ends,  with  which  to  loosen  the  sponges. 
One  of  the  boatmen  struck  a  light  as  we  passed,  and 
revealed  the  interior  of  their  improvised  cabin. 

There  are  only  three  inhabited  houses  in  this  remote 
little  bay  to  the  extreme  north  of  Siphnos  :  two  of  these 
were  shut  for  the  winter,  and  the  third,  inhabited  by  an 
old  potter  and  his  wife,  opened  its  door  to  us,  such  as  it 
was.     The  house  consisted  of  one  room,  with  the  potter's 

'  Kiitaf  in  //.  nviil.  563  is  used  as  a  vine  pole  ;  ^schj-lus,  ^g.  66,  as 
the  shaft  of  a  spear  ;  Luc,  Navig.,  as  the  tiller  of  a  rudder.  It  is  con- 
necled  with  kyJisirii),  to  brandish. 


22  THE  CYC  LADES, 


wheel  in  the  middle,  and  around  were  all  the  results  of 
his  last  day's  labour  waiting  to  be  baked  on  the  morrow ; 
a  seat  built  into  the  wall,  a  low  table,  a  gourd  or  two, 
cheese  baskets,  and  a  bed  in  a  comer  formed  all  the 
potter's  household  gods. 

From  this  bed  the  potter  and  his  wife  had  just 
risen  :  it  was  formed  by  some  boards  fixed  into  the 
wall  on  two  sides  and  supported  at  the  outer  angle 
by  the  rough  trunk  of  a  tree,  with  one  branch  left 
as  a  step  to  help  you  climb  the  four  feet  that  it  was 
raised  from  the  ground.  Some  hard  woollen  sheets  and 
a  hairy  rug,  or  *  chlamys,'.  of  home-spun  material  formed 
all  the  covering  for  these  boards ;  and  on  to  this  the 
potter  and  his  wife  insisted  that  we  should  mount.  They 
would  take  no  refusal,  poor  hospitable  old  things,  so  we 
passed  the  remainder  of  the  night  there  as  best  we  could, 
whilst  our  host  and  hostess.  Captain  George,  and  our 
sailors  lay  stretched  on  the  mud  floor  around  us  ready, 
as  the  captain  grimly  remarked  before"  he  went  to  sleep, 
to  protect  us  and  our  baggage  from  the  sponge-fishers  if 
they  should  attack  us  in  the  night. 

In  the  night  a  tremendous  storm  arose,  which  burst 
open  the  door.  For  a  moment  we  thought  our  enemies 
had  come,  but  were  relieved  to  find  that  only  the  rain 
and  wind  came  in  ;  we  were  thankful,  too,  that  we  had 
insisted  on  leaving  Seriphos  when  we  did — such  a  storm 
as  this  might  last  for  days. 

We  liked  our  old  potter  very  much  on  further 
acquaintance :  the  woman  did  all  she  could  for  us  next 
morning,  and,  like  the  demarch  of  Galene,  she  said  she 
had  been  expecting  guests,  for  her  eye  had  been  itching 
all  the  previous  day.  The  potters  of  Siphnos  are  cele- 
brated throughout  Greece.  In  the  spring  time  they  start 
on  their  travels  far  and  wide,  and  settle  in  towns  and 


villages  for  days  and  weeks  until  the  place  is  supplied 
with  large  well-made  earthenware  amphora  and  coolcing 
utensils  ;  and  it  is  an  ancient  art  which  has  never  left  the 
island.  In  Pliny's  time  and  before  that  the  Siphniote 
keramic  art  was  celebrated,  and  some  specimens  found 
lately  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  off  Cape  Kalymnia,  to  the 
south  of  the  island,  prove  that  jars  of  excellent  work- 
manship of  the  best  period  of  Greek  art  were  manufac- 
tured here ;  and  these  were  probably  lost  when '  being 
exported. 

The  old  potter  worked  for  us  at  his  wheel.  There  was 
the  disc  (t/3o;;^(A)  which  he  turned  by  the  application  of 
his  foot ;  this  was  joined  by  a  spindle  (pdxa)  to  a  smaller 
upper  disc  {fUKph,  rpoxta).  And  as  the  clay  revolved 
round  it,  it  was  fashioned  into  the  form  he  wished  by  a 
wooden  lathe  which  he  held  in  his  hand.  He  reminded 
me  strongly  of  a  potter  at  work  as  represented  on  a 
certain  vase  in  the  British  Museum. 

We  had  to  wait  some  hours  before  mules  could  be 
fetched,  and  the  old  couple  tried  to  prepare  us  a  meal, 
which  consisted  of  fish  soup  and  onions,  for  onions,  as 
appears  from  a  proverb  in  these  parts,  are  common 
enough  in  Siphnos.  '  Give  a  Siphniote  an  onion '  corre- 
sponds to  'carrying  coals  to  Newcastle.'  And  as  we 
sat  around  the  low  table  the  potter  told  us  some  of  his 
family  troubles :  how  two  of  his  sons  had  been  burnt  in 
a  fire  at  Constantinople,  and  how  all  his  daughters  had 
gone  to  tne  mainland  as  cooks ;  for  Siphnos  has  another 
speciality  besides  pots,  namely,  cooks,  and  in  the  Greek 
restaurants  at  Constantinople  all  thec/te/s  are  Siphniotes. 

By  daylight  the  neighbourhood  of  the  potter's  house 
looked  dreary  enough.  It  was  but  a  stony,  barren  pro- 
montory swept  by  the  northern  blast,  with  a  disused 
monastery,  dedicated  to  St,  George,  at  the  end  of  it ;  also 


24  '    THE  CYCLADES. 


the  remains  of  an  old  Hellenic  watch  tower,  turned  into 
a  shelter  for  cattle.  Captain  George  went  with  us  to  the 
end  of  this  promontory,  and  pointed  out  to  us  a  danger- 
ous rock  just  outside  the  harbour,  and  let  us  understand 
that  if  we  had  had  any  other  captain  but  himself  we 
should  have  found  a  watery  grave  last  night. 

*  Bad  sailors,  these  Siphniotes  ;  wretched  island  ! '  he 
muttered,  and  the  insular  jealousy  at  once  showed  itself 
*  Look  at  all  these  stones,'  he  continued  ;  *  they  are  full 
of  vipers,  and  in  summer  people  have  to  wear  shoes  and 
gaiters  on  purpose  to  protect  themselves :  we  have 
nothing  of  this  kind  in  Seriphos.* 

I  could  not  help  rejoining  that,  at  all  events,  they  had 
plenty  of  stones,  and  thought  to  myself  they  probably 
had  plenty  of  vipers,  whereas  they  have  nothing  to  boast 
of  like  the  fertility  of  Southern  Siphnos.  Captain  George 
was  a  thorough  Greek,  such  an  one  as  Pallas  Athene 
would  have  admired,  like  Ulysses,  for  his  cunning.  Hav- 
ing driven  as  good  a  bargain  with  us  as  he  could,  we 
overheard  him  arranging  with  the  old  potter  for  the 
export  of  pots  on  his  return  journey. 

About  midday  our  mules  arrived,  and  we  set  forth  on 
our  way  to  the  centre  of  Siphniote  life,  which  lies  to  the 
south-west  of  the  island,  where  it  always  was.  Our  road 
led  through  the  bed  of  a  mountain  torrent,  with  laurel 
'^  roses  waving  on  either  side  ;  and  when  we  had  crossed  the 
ridge  of  central  hills  we  saw  the  long  line  of  villages,  five 
in  all,  which  runs  for  nearly  two  miles  along  the  western 
slopes.  As  each  house  has  its  own  garden  and  olive 
orchard,  and  as  green  fields  cover  all  the  hillside,  it  was 
by  far  the  most  luxurious  sight  we  had  as  yet  ^een  in  the 
Cyclades.  I  could  not  help  remarking  this  to  Captain 
George,  who  still  accompanied  us,  and  who  shrugged  his 
shoulders  as  he  replied,* Yes,  the  Siphniotes  have  advan- 


SIPHNOS.  25 


tages  that  we  have  not  in  Seriphos  ;  a  wonder  they  do 
not  make  more  use  of  them.' 

The  Siphniotes  are  wonderful  hands  at  whitewash. 
Every  house,  every  church  is  covered  with  it.  Ancient 
bits  of  statues  and  inscriptions,  which  have  been  let  into 
the  walls  by  way  of  ornament,  are  coated  and  illegible 
with  it ;  a  clean  housewife  picks  out  the  edges  of  her 
stone  floor  with  whitewash  once  a  week,  when  she  does 
her  cleaning,  and  if  the  effect  is  monotonous  it  is  at  any 
rate  clean  ;  and  the  villages  of  Siphnos,  if  it  were  not  for 
the  quantity  of  coarse-looking  pigs  with  short  bristles 
which  swarm  in  them,  would  be  bright  and  pleasant 
enough.  But  these  pigs  are  abominable  creatures  ;  they 
saunter  in  and  out  of  houses  at  will.  The  Siphniotes  cut 
their  bristles  for  sewing  shoes  and  making  brushes  with ; 
hence  a  pig  with  a  strong  crop  of  these  ready  to  be  shorn 
presents  a  particularly  forbidding  appearance.  Captain 
George  at  once  remarked  our  disgust  at  these  animals, 
and  laughed  and  propounded  a  local  riddle. 

*  What  sort  of  a  chicken  is  that  which  they  scrape 
and  cut,  and  then  the  shoemaker  uses  his  feathers  in  his 
art }  * — Answer :  *  A  pig.* 

All  this  fertile  strip  of  Siphnos  is  shut  off  from  the 
north  and  west  by  a  lofty,  prettily  indented  range  of 
mountains.  Of  course  Prophet  Elias  is  the  name  of  the 
highest,  with  a  church  on  the  summit,  a  specimen  of  old 
Byzantine  of  the  tenth  century  ;  another  is  St.  Simeon, 
with  another  church.  We  passed  through  two  of  the 
villages  without  stopping,  and  then  drew  up  at  Apollonia, 
a  village  built  on  the  site  of  an  old  temple  of  Apollo,  the 
ruins  of  which  were  used  to  build  the  modern  church 
dedicated  to  the  Virgin.  In  this  village  is  the  seat 
of  government  in  Siphnos,  the  barracks,  and  the  de- 
marcheion,  and  here  we  were  introduced  to  another  brave 


26  THE  CYC  LADES, 


\ 


mariner,  Captain  Prokos  by  name,  who  was  to  be  our 
host,  and  who  had  been  in  command  of  a  merchant  ship, 
and  had  seen  much  of  the  world.  He  was  an  exceed- 
ingly jovial  man,  and  had  a  buxom  wife  and  blooming 
daughters,  who  at  once  came  forward  to  receive  us  and 
introduced  us  to  our  new  quarters.  The  women  were  very 
demonstrative,  and  loved  to  mark  their  civility  by  stroking 
my  wife,  examining  minutely  her  clothes,  and  calling  her 
a  doll  {kovkKo),  They  expressed  the  greatest  astonish- 
ment at  our  luggage,  humble  as  it  seemed  to  us,  and 
likened  it  to  that  of  monarchs.  Their  house  was  built  on 
the  same  principle  as  Captain  George's,  having  a  square 
sitting  room,  and  four  cabins  for  bedrooms  leading  off  it, 
which  contained  huge  beds,  but  no  room  to  dress  in,  and 
were  well  stocked  with  what  the  Greeks  playfully  call 
'  black-faced  heifers  all  blood  and  skin ' ;  but  we  had  a 
glorious  satin  quilt  and  a  valance  of  magnificent  Greek 
lace  to  make  up  for  the  other  discomforts. 

The  Siphniotes  are  industrious  and  well-to-do  ;  they 
have  a  fertile  island,  olives  grow  to  any  extent,  and 
every  Greek  knows  that  *  an  olive  with  a  kernel  gives  a 
boot  to  a  man/  They  have  mines,  too,  and  though  the 
richer  inhabitants  complain  that  the  existence  of  mines 
makes  labour  and  provisions  dear  yet  there  are  two 
sides  to  this  question.  A  French  company  has  started 
mining  operations  at  Kamara,  a  place  so  called  from 
the  vaulted  chambers  cut  by  ancient  miners  in  the  cliffs 
(Italian,  camere)  close  to  the  sea.  We  visited  them  one 
day,  and  saw  there  an  interesting  cave  with  the  inscrip- 
tion over  it,  NTM4>nN  lEPON  (the  temple  of  the 
nymphs),  cut  in  the  rock.  Here  we  have  an  old  centre 
of  nymph  worship,  and  here  we  still  find  wonderful 
stories  of  Nereids  and  genii  loci  {o-toixsIo)  associated 
with  the  spot.     Travellers  who  cross  a  certain  stream 


\{ 


SIPHNOS.  27 


close  to  here,  more  especially  at  midnight  or  midday, 
are  exposed  to  the  danger  of  being  possessed  {vvfi<po- 
\7j7rT0sf) ;  and  to  cure  such  cases  it  is  customary  to  prepare 
and  place  at  a  spot  where  three  roads  meet  {rplarpaTa), 
or  hang  in  the  wells,  some  bread  wrapped  up  in  a  clean 
napkin,  and  some  honey,  milk,  and  eggs,  to  appease 
these  nymphs.  The  genii  loci,  too,  haunt  certain  well- 
known  trees  and  cliffs,  and  are  like  our  old  friends  the 
Hamadryads.  Woodcutters  fear  to  lie  or  sleep  under  a 
big  old  olive  tree  called  Megdanos  ;  and  when  they  have 
to  cut  down  a  tree  that  they  suppose  to  be  possessed  they 
are  exceedingly  careful  when  it  falls  to  prostrate  them- 
selves humbly  and  in  silence  lest  the  spirit  should  chastise 
them  as  it  escapes  ;  and  sometimes  they  put  a  stone  on 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  so  as  to  prevent  its  egress. 

At  the  wells  we  find  another  kind  of  sprite  called  by 
the  peasants  Arabs  {'ApdirrjSss) ;  and  sometimes  even 
piously  inclined  sprites  haunt  churches  ;  these  are  rarely 
evil-doing ;  if  they  are,  they  do  not  live  in  the  church,  but 
in  a  cave  hard  by,  so  as  to  prevent  people  from  going 
there  to  worship.  And  not  unfrequently  we  hear  stories 
of  the  prowess  of  the  patron  saint — how  he  has  driven 
them  off  and  rendered  the  place  safe  again. 

On  our  return  journey  we  visited  what  was  once  a 
celebrated  convent  for  nuns,  dedicated  to  St.  John  the 
Theologian.  Captain  Prokos  told  us  some  sorry  tales 
about  the  goings  on  of  these  ladies  when  he  was  young, 
for  generally  before  they  were  placed  in  this  convent 
they  had  been  guilty  of  some  misconduct  at  home  ;  and 
the  Convent  of  St.  John  the  Theologian  before  it  was 
disestablished  by  the  present  Government  was  the 
favourite  rendezvous  of  all  the  gallants  of  Siphnos. 
Captain  Prokos  lead  us  to  infer  that  he  had  been  there 
more  than  once,  at  which  speech  his  wife  administered 


\ 


23  THE  CYCLADES, 

a  sharp  reprimand,  for  she  was  not  the  down-trodden 
squaw  our  late  hostess  had  become.  Now  these  giddy 
nuns  are  scattered  to  the  wind,  and  the  tottering  walls  of 
their  convent  are  inhabited  by  two  very  ancient  females 
whose  duty  it  is  to  clean  the  church  and  keep  the  lamps 
burning.  The  Siphniotes  call  it  the  Convent  of  Mcyy/roi) 
amongst  themselves.  The  name  was  curious,  and  ex- 
cited my  curiosity.  A  tradition,  on  which  is  based  the 
origin  of  this  name,  says  that  a  pious  Siphniote  built  it 
years  ago,  and  his  wife  objected  to  the  money  he  had 
spent  upon  it ;  whereat  he  replied,  in  French,  ^jf'ai  fait 
mon  goAt^  and  the  name  has  stuck  to  it  ever  since.  It 
is  curious  what  a  lot  of  western  words  have  crept  into  the 
Siphniote  dialect.  Pigs  they  call  francesi  (Frenchmen) 
because  a  traveller  of  that  nation  exclaimed  on  hearing 
a  pig  grunt,  *  Voilit  une  langue  queje  comprends  ! '  The 
schoolmaster  of  Siphnos  rejoices  in  the  name  of  VKmv, 
*  Mine  is  a  family  of  French  origin,'  he  said  ;  *  the  name 
was  formerly  spelt  Jean.'  Probably  the  mines  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  this  and  the  family  who  ruled  in 
Siphnos  in  the  Venetian  days,  the  Da  Corogna,  of  Spanish 
extraction  :  this  family  provided  princes  for  Siphnos  for 
a  century  and  a  half,  and  then,  in  1456,  the  heiress  of  this 
family  married  one  Nikolas  Gozzadini,  who  became  lord 
of  Siphnos;  not  until  16 17  was  the  last  of  this  family 
cast  out  by  the  Turks.  There  still  live  on  the  island  of 
Santorin  another  branch  of  the  Da  Corogna  family. 

The  Latin  seat  of  government  was  at  the  town  now 
called  Kastro,  an  interesting  specimen  of  mediaeval  forti- 
fication, built  on  a  tongue  of  land  running  out  into  the  sea, 
about  half-an-hour's  ride  from  Apollonia.  And  thither 
on  the  following  morning  our  course  was  bent. 

One  is  surprised  at  the  quantity  of  churches  spread 
about  Siphnos,  *  a  proof  of  the  piety  of  our  ancestors,' 


SIPHNOS. 


29 


said  our  muleteer.  Two  of  these  dome^d,  whitewashed 
buildings  lie  close  together,  and  have  a  peculiar  interest 
of  their  own,  inasmuch  as  they  formed  the  lecture  halls 
of  the  once  celebrated  *  School  of  Siphnos,'  an  establish- 
ment which  will  soon  be  blotted  out  of  memory  and 
forgotten  ;  a  generation  hence  none  will  remember  what 
an  important  rSle  this  *  School  of  the  Holy  Tomb  *  played 
in  the  preservation  of  the  Greek  nationality  during  the 
dark  ages. 

It  was  founded  by  some  refugees  from  Constantinople 
who  fled  to  Siphnos  for  peace  during  the  reign  of  the 
iconoclast  Emperors  of  the  East.  On  account  of  the 
seclusion  of  the  spot  and  the  difficulty  of  access  it  re- 
tained in  all  their  simplicity  the  earliest  customs  of  the 
Greek  Church,  purer  even  than  the  School  of  Mount 
Athos.  Extensive  grants  of  land  and  liberties  were 
secured  for  it  by  pupils  who  in  after-life  gained  distinc- 
tion for  themselves :  amongst  these  were  numbered 
patriarchs,  archpriests,  and  bishops,  who  held  sees  at 
Caesarea,  Belgrade,  Cyzicus,  and  elsewhere,  many  of 
whom  returned  to  spend  their  last  days  in  the  island,  and 
introduced  the  enlightenment  of  the  world  into  their 
old  school.  The  pupils  lodged  in  the  town  and  villages, 
and  came  daily,  bringing  their  food  with  them,  to  attend 
lectures  at  these  churches;  and  their  minds  were  nur- 
tured by  men  whose  notoriety,  if  it  has  not  extended  far, 
is  well  attested  to  by  contemporary  writers.  Nicholas 
Chrysogelos  was  headmaster  of  this  school  at  the  time 
of  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  independence.  He  forthwith 
initiated  his  scholars  into  the  mysteries  of  the  Friendly 
Society,  and  when,  on  March  25,  1821,  the  banner  of 
freedom  was  unfurled,  Chrysogelos  took  those  of  his 
pupils  who  were  fit  to  carry  arms  and  joined  the  army 
in  the  Peloponnese.    For  some  time  he  was  Capo  dlstria's 


30  THE  CYCLADES, 


right-hand  man  in  council  and  in  war,  and  when  he 
returned  home  after  the  final  establishment  of  freedom 
he  was  made  the  first  demarch  of  Siphnos,  and  died  full 
of  years  and  honour  in  1857. 

Under  the  new  regime  the  School  of  Siphnos  had  of 
necessity  to  be  remodelled,  for  its  work  had  been  done. 
It  had  assisted  in  preserving  the  Greek  language,  re- 
ligion, and  customs  from  being  obliterated  during  a 
period  when  they  were  assailed  on  all  sides  by  Italians, 
by  Albanians,  and  by  Turks.  And  now  the  revenues  of 
the  School  of  the  Holy  Tomb  have  been  appropriated  to 
and  form  the  nucleus  of  the  modern  gymnasium  of  Syra. 
We  passed  by  the  two  churches  just  before  reaching  the 
Kastro  ;  they  will  soon  share  the  fate  of  many  others  of 
a  like  nature  in  ungrateful  Greece— they  will  be  ruined 
and  forgotten. 

The  Kastro  of  Siphnos,  or  Seraglio,  as  it  is  still 
occasionally  called,  is  a  regular  old-world  Italian  town, 
which  has  not  been  improved  by  the  introduction  of  a 
few  Greek  customs.  Each  house  has  an  outer  staircase, 
which  projects  into  the  street  for  the  benefit  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  upper  storey  ;  up  this  staircase  climbs 
the  chimney  of  the  lower  storey,  and  beneath  it  is  the 
pigsty.  The  streets  are  narrow  and  dirty,  many  houses 
are  falling  into  ruins,  for  the  glory  of  Siphnos  has  left 
the  Kastro,  and  is  now  centred  in  the  villages  on  the 
hillside. 

The  ruins  of  an  old  town  hall  have  an  inscription  in 
Gothic  characters,  testifying  that  it  was  built  by  one  of 
the  Da  Corogna  family  in  1 365  ;  you  pass  on  a  step  or 
two,  and  read  an  inscription,  in  ancient  Greek,  of  course, 
let  into  the  wall  wrong  way  up  by  the  ignorant  builder  ; 
you  go  a  little  further,  and  see  round  a  well  a  Turkish 
inscription,  telling  how  it  was  erected  by  the  munificence 


SIPHNOS,  31 


of  the  Ottoman  dragoman.  Thus  from  the  stones  by 
the  street  side  can  you  read  the  varied  history  of  the 
Kastro. 

Some  of  the  old  houses  are  very  fine :  the  one  in 
which  we  lunched  possessed  a  very  large  ante-room, 
with  five  doors  leading  off  it,  each  with  a  marble  fan- 
light carved  like  those  we  had  seen  at  Tenos,  three 
ships  on  either  side,  and  a  flower  at  the  top  ;  and  the 
houses  of  the  richer  inhabitants  of  the  place  are  perfect 
museums  of  Venetian  treasures,  glass,  china,  oak  chests, 
cabinets,  carved  candle-brackets,  pictures,  and  other 
things  which  delight  the  eye  of  a  bric-dbrac  hunter. 

But  the  speciality  of  the  Kastro  is  the  female  costume 
which  is  still  worn  by  the  elderly  and  by  the  poor,  but,  I 
fear,  in  a  few  years  will  exist  no  more.  Of  this  costume 
the  head-dress,  ox  pina^  as  it  is  called,  is  the  most  striking 
feature :  it  is  a  tall  erection,  raised  like  a  helmet.  First 
of  all  they  put  on  a  sort  of  cap  padded  with  cotton  until 
it  is  somewhat  like  a  miniature  mule-saddle,  and  around 
this  they  twist  the  shawl  {jiavhvXiov).  On  feast  days  the 
covering  for  this  pina  is  most  lovely,  all  sorts  of  gold 
embroideries  being  pinned  on  to  it,  butterflies,  beetles, 
flowers,  &c.  Two  little  curls  peep  out  on  the  cheeks,  and 
earrings  of  a  most  gorgeous  nature  are  worn.  We  were 
shown  one  pair  three  inches  long :  on  the  top  was  a 
crown,  below  this  a  filigree  representation  of  two  eagles, 
and  to  this  was  hung  an  enamelled  ship  with  twelve  sails 
wonderfully  executed  in  colours  of  white,  green  and  blue 
enamel,  and  gold,  and  three  large  pearls  below.  We 
were  shown,  too,  bracelets  of  fifteen  chains  formed  of 
little  rosettes,  three  inches  wide  and  with  an  enamelled 
clasp.  The  dress  of  the  pina  costume  is  correspondingly 
magnificent,  consisting  of  a  skirt  {fustana)  of  cloth  of 
gold,   a   bodice   {birikos)   splendidly  embroidered  with 


32  THE  CYCLADES. 


gold  and  colours,  and  a  green  velvet  overgown  hanging 
behind  {KovTo^ovvif)  with  gold  trimming  and  hanging 
sleeves.  Such  costumes  as  these  the  ladies  of  Siphnos  wore 
a  century  ago  ;  now  only  do  they  appear  on  a  specially 
festive  occasion,  and  most  of  them  have  fallen  a  prey  to 
the  hungry  Jews  who  scavenge  these  islands  for  their 
bric-d'brac  shops. 

The  castle  of  the  Kastro  is  almost  in  ruins,  and  the 
Latin  church,  with  pretty  Rhodian  plates  let  into  the  wall, 
is  quite  so,  for  there  are  no  more  Western  Christians  now 
in  Siphnos.  In  fact,  a  new  era  has  now  dawned  for  these 
islands  :  the  Western  interregnum  is  over :  a  few  names 
of  people  and  places,  a  few  ruins  of  Gothic  art,  a  few 
costumes,  and  this  is  all  that  is  left  of  the  dukes  of  the 
yEgean  Sea. 

Outside  the  gate  of  the  Kastro,  down  by  a  little 
brook,  are  visible  traces  of  a  still  more  ancient  regime. 
FoMv  large  sarcophagi,  one  of  which  is  adorned  with 
garlands  of  fruit,  some  remains  of  statues,  some  stones 
of  buildings,  point  to  the  existence  here  of  the  old  town 
called  Siphnos  alluded  to  by  Herodotus.  Traces  of  the 
old  wall  are  still  visible,  and  here,  doubtless,  was  the 
white  marble  Prytaneum  and  the  AevKo<f>pv9  ayopa 
alluded  to  by  the  father  of  history.  Three  centuries 
ago  there  was  to  be  seen,  in  a  fair  state  of  preservation,  a 
temple  of  Pan  close  to  the  bed  of  this  stream,  in  which 
was  a  statue  of  that  deity,  having  in  his  mouth  his  be- 
loved pipe,  and  gazing  to  heaven.  The  ruins  of  this 
temple  were  converted  into  a  little  church,  and  the  spot 
is  still  called  *  goat's  foot '  (TpayoTroSt),  from  the  statue  of 
Pan,  which  has  found  a  home  elsewhere. 

Siphnos  in  ancient  days  played  no  inconsiderable 
part  in  history ;  it  was  one  of  the  richest  of  the  islands, 
from   its  gold  and   silver  mines.     But   once,   says  the 


SIPHNOS,  33 


legend,  the  Siphniotes,  instead  of  sending  gold  to  Delphi, 
sent  only  a  gilded  ball ;  so  Apollo  was  wroth,  and  de- 
stroyed their  mines  by  flooding  them.  We  made  an 
expedition  thither,  and  easily  recognised  that  they  had 
been  destroyed  by  the  encroachment  of  the  sea  ;  but  as 
these  mines  are  important  from  an  archaeological  point 
of  view  I  will  refer  the  reader  to  a  special  note  thereon. 

The  great  blow  (Herodotus  tells  us)  to  the  wealth  of 
Siphnos  was  dealt  by  Samiote  refugees  who  fled  here 
from  the  rule  of  Polycrates,  and  demanded  money  from 
the  wealthy  inhabitants.  On  this  being  refused  them, 
they  plundered  the  place,  took  one  hundred  talents,  and 
sailed  off".  The  oracle  at  Delphi  had  prophesied  this 
disaster,  the  wish  very  likely  having  been  father  to  the 
prophecy,  for  Siphnos  was  generally  unpopular  ;  and 
the  term  ari<f>pid^siv  was  coined  to  apply  to  any  dishon- 
esty :  evidently  the  rich  miners  of  Siphnos  kept  faith 
neither  with  gods  nor  men.  Yet  Siphnos  had  power  even 
after  this  disaster,  for  we  find  her  name  appearing  on 
one  of  the  rings  of  the  three-headed  serpent  which  was 
presented  to  the  shrine  at  Delphi  after  the  defeat  of 
Xerxes,  and  in  the  rings  of  which  were  inscribed  the 
names  of  the  independent  States  which  had  sent  assist- 
ance at  this  crisis.  In  every  age  an  island  rich  in  minerals 
must  hold  its  own  ;  and  now,  if  the  Siphniote  mines  were 
properly  worked,  it  would  rise  again  to  be  one  of  the 
most  prominent  islands  of  the  Grecian  Archipelago. 

Our  rest  and  our  lunch  at  the  Kastro  were  acceptable 
enough,  for  the  day  was  hot  and  the  room  large  and 
cool.  An  old  man  prepared  us  a  capital  meal  of  fish 
and  light  cakes,  with  honey  poured  over,  and  told  us 
much  about  the  visit  of  King  Otho  and  Queen  Amalia 
to  the  Kastro ;  how  he  had  attended  upon  their  majes- 
ties ;  and  how  the  queen  had  expressed  her  indignation 

ij 


34  THE  CYC  LADES. 


at  the  tendency  of  the  females  to  abandon  their  old 
costumes  for  Western  tawdriness. 

Our  homeward  route  led  us  past  two  convents — one 
a  nunnery  with  two  women  and  several  children  left  in 
charge  of  a  grass-grown  courtyard  and  crumbling  walls, 
and  the  other  the  flourishing  monastery  *  of  the  well ' 
{<Tri)v  Ppv<Ttv,  *  to  the  well/  as  it  is  called).*  This  monas- 
tery is  built  in  a  fertile  gorge,  and,  as  its  name  implies, 
amidst  running  waters  and  bubbling  streams.  This 
source  supplies  all  Siphnos  with  water.  And  the  luxuri- 
ance of  orange  and  lemon  trees,  the  festoons  of  maiden- 
hair and  other  ferns,  are  quite  fairylike  as  you  ride 
along. 

Sixteen  monks  are  left  at  this  monastery,  and  their 
reception  room  was  most  cheerful,  for  they  had  about  a 
dozen  guests — men,  women,  and  children—  with  them, 
very  different  from  the  monastic  seclusion  of  Western 
Europe.     On  the  middle  of  the  divan,  crumpled  up  like  a 
bundle  of  rugs,  wrinkled  and  deaf,  sat  the  mother  of  the 
superior.    Her  knees  touched  her  chin  and  her  heels  rested 
on  the  edge  of  the  divan.     She  was  very  gay  and  talka- 
tive nevertheless,  and  spoke  of  having  been  at  Constanti- 
nople during  the  Crimean  War,  and  praised  our  soldiers. 
Then   I  tried  to  draw  her   on   about   Greece,   and 
Siphnos  in  particular.    *  What  a  lovely  island  you  have ! 
How  superior  to  the  others !     What  a  splendid  water 
source  you  have  close  to  you  !     Do  any  Nereids  dwell 
there  }  *  I  tenderly  enquired. 

*  Bah  !  *  said  she,  *  we  have  none  of  those  things  now  ; 
you  may  travel  without  the  least  fear.'     I  felt  ashamed 

*  A  curious  idiom,  common  in  Greece  nowadays,  by  which  places  are 
spoken  of  as  *  to  the  so-and-so,'  reminding  one  of  the  French  idiom,  Le 
Mans  and  Au  Mans.  (Stamboul  is  derived,  it  is  said,  from  its  Greek 
name  Vt?V  'K6\iVy  to  the  city.) 


SIPHNOS.  35 


of  myself,  and  unable  to  explain  ;  consequently  I  left  her 
alone,  and  adjudged  her  very  unprofitable,  as  old  dames 
go  in  the  islands. 

The  Greeks  of  Siphnos,  I  am  sure,  could  supply  us 
with  a  few  wrinkles  as  to  how  to  pronounce  classical 
Greek  properly  ;  they  do  not  give  the  upsilon  the  ever- 
lasting sound  of  ^,  which  makes  it  so  difficult  to  distin- 
guish from  the  others.  When  long,  as  in  ^€0-09,  they 
give  it  the  value  of  the  French  eu.  Didaskalos  Jean 
was  very  sure  that  by  travelling  through  these  islands  a 
true  idea  of  the  old  pronunciation  of  Greek  could  be 
arrived  at  I  have  heard  the  proper  lei?gth  of  the  co  and 
77  preserved :  avOpanroSy  for  instance,  is  sometimes  pro- 
nounced with  two  long  sing-song  syllables  to  begin  with. 
But  a  study  of  this  kind  requires  the  keen  ear  of  a 
native ;  a  foreigner,  amidst  the  innumerable  dialects, 
would  get  hopelessly  lost 

That  night  Captain  Prokos  had  a  large  parfy  of 
Siphniotes  to  meet  us  ;  we  laughed  and  talked,  and  it  was 
quite  a  late  hour  before  they  dispersed.  He  and  his  wife 
slept  in  the  den  next  to  ours  ;  there  was  a  large  hole  in 
the  wall,  so  we  could  hear  him  talk  and  hear  him  snore. 
Suddenly  in  the  night  the  greatest  commotion  arose  :  an 
inquisitive  pig  had  entered  the  house,  and  had  pushed  its 
adventurous  course  right  into  the  sty  where  the  Prokoi 
slept  They  are  hospitable  enough  to  their  pigs  by  day, 
but  they  draw  the  line  at  the  bedroom  door.  The  cap- 
tain and  his  wife  yelled  and  screamed  at  the  impudent 
intruder  with  all  their  might,  but  he  simply  grunted  until 
they  both  arose  and  with  dire  imprecations  pursued  him 
out  of  the  house. 

On  the  next  day  we  visited  the  mines,  and  on  the 
following  our  stay  at  Siphnos  came  to  an  end.  We  were 
obliged  to  close  with  Captain  George's  offer  to  take  us 

D  2 


w^ 


36  THE  CYC  LADES. 

to  Kimolos,  for  in  some  mysterious  manner  he  had  us  in 
his  power;  for  the  Siphniote  boatmen  refused  to  take  us  ; 
and  Captain  George's  caTque  appeared  to  be  our  only 
chance.  Evidently  he  looked  upon  us  as  his  legitimate 
prey,  and  the  Siphniotes  dare  not  enter  into  competition 
with  him. 

It  was  a  lovely  day  early  in  December  when  we 
parted  from  our  friends  at  Apollonia.  Our  way  led  through 
a  richly  fertile  country  down  to  another  harbour  called 
Pharos,  where  the  ruins  of  a  white  marble  Hellenic 
tower  have  suggested  to  the  inhabitants  the  idea  that 
once  a  lighthouse  (Pharos)  existed  there.  Hard  by  are  the 
traces  of  another  similar  one,  called  the  tower  of  St.  John, 
and  all  around  are  terraces  and  walls — unmistakable 
evidences  that  an  ancient  town  existed  here.  We  may 
almost  unhesitatingly  call  it  Minoa,  for  we  have  only 
three  towns  in  Siphnos  mentioned  by  Stephanos,  of  which, 
from  inscriptions,  we  know  the  position  of  Siphnos  ; 
Apollonia,  around  the  temple  of  Apollo,  speaks  for  itself ; 
and  the  third,  Minoa,  is  undoubtedly  here. 

By  making  a  little  deviation  we  were  able  to  pay^ 
a  visit  to  some  nuns,  whose  convent  is  delightfully 
situated  on  the  hill  slopes,  andjis  dedicated  to  the  Virgin 
of  the  Mountain.  Here  they  have  a  miraculous  picture 
worshipped  at  the  panegyris,  or  festival  day,  once  a 
year,  which  is  said  to  have  special  properties  for  work- 
ing miracles  on  childless  women,  who  flock  here  to  con- 
sult this  modern  Aphrodite  ;  and  a  wreath  of  wax  orange 
blossom  entwined  around  the  frame  was  the  gift  of  some 
grateful  mother  whose  prayers  had  been  answered.  The 
church  is  built  with  the  pillars  of  an  old  Doric  temple, 
and  is  very  handsome ;  but  there  are  only  six  nuns  left 
here  now,  who  complained  bitterly  of  their  poverty,  and 
did  not  seem  the  least  flattered  when  we  admired  the 


beautifu]  position  of  fheir  home.  From  the  terrace  of 
this  convent  we  enjoyed  one  of  those  ever-changing  views 
for  which  the  Cycladesare  noted,  for  every  new  position, 
every  new  elevation  from  which  you  see  the  surrounding 
islands  seems  to  add  some  new  charm  to  the  panorama. 
Close  beneath  us  was  the  little  appanage  of  Siphnos,the 
island  rock  of  Kypriani,  now  only  used  as  a  pasturage 
for  flocks  in  summer,  on  which  was  built  a  church,  as  the 
tradition  of  the  elders  tells  us,  by  a  pious  Siphniote  lady 
called  Kypria  in  memory  of  her  son,  who  was  drowned 
at  sea ;  and  in  honour  of  her  own  name  she  caused  the 
clay  of  the  bricks  intended  for  the  building  of  the  church 
to  be  mixed  with  Cypriote  wine  instead  of  water. 

Passing  on  from  this  convent  we  began  to  ascend  the 
ridge  of  hills  which  divides  the  island  from  east  to  west, 
and  had  our  lunch  in  a  lovely  spot,  a  perfect  garden  of 
wild  flowers  even  in  December,  many-coloured  anemones, 
cyclamens  in  full  bloom  peeping  out  of  the  mastic  bushes 
with  their  red  berries  ;  around  us  were  wild  olives,  wild 
juniper  trees,  wormwood,  aromatic  thyme,  and  caper  trees; 
just  beneath  us  was  one  of  those  everlasting  little  white 
churches  buried  in  figs  and  olives,  and  the  well  from 
which  we  got  our  water  was  draped  with  maidenhair. 

Oil  reaching  the  summit  we  descended  by  a  very 
steep  mountain  road  into  the  secluded  harbour  of  Bathy 
(deep),  so  called,  we  learnt,  not  from  the  depth  of  the 
water  in  the  bay,  but  from  the  height  of  the  mountains 
which  surround  it  and  the  depth  of  the  inlet  into  the  land. 
Here  is  a  monastery,  dedicated  to  the  archangel  Gabriel, 
built  on  a  rock  jutting  out  into  the  sea,  right  in  the 
centre  of  the  bay.  It  is  a  pure  specimen  of  Byzantine 
architecture — three  transepts,  two  domes,  and  an  elegant 
bell  tower — and  here  we  felt  we  could  not  grumble  at 
the  everlasting  whitewash  which  covered  it.  for  Ehe  white 


38  THE  CYCLADES. 


church  against  the  blue  sea,  with  nothing  for  background 
and  foreground  but  the  dull  rocks  and  olive  trees,  made 
a  charming  little  picture.  One  old  monk  who  looks  after 
the  church  and  the  ruined  cells  drags  out  a  weary  exist- 
ence here,  which  is  varied  occasionally  by  the  arrival  of 
a  few  fishing  boats  and  by  a  few  people  in  the  summer, 
who  come  from  the  town  to  occupy  the  unused  rooms 
for  sea-bathing.  On  the  day  of  the  festival  of  the 
archangel  quantities  of  sailor  pilgrims  come  to  visit  the 
spot,  and  the  old  monk  collects  in  a  basket  the  remnants 
of  the  loaves  that  they  leave  behind  them  ;  and  when  we 
saw  him  all  the  food  he  had  to  subsist  upon  were  these 
hard  crusts,  which  he  moistens  with  water,  olives,  and 
a  few  herbs.  He  sleeps  on  a  bed  of  leaves,  and  if  not  a 
hermit  in  name  he  is  so  in  deed. 

Captain  George  and  his  carque  met  us  here,  and  with 
a  favourable  breeze  we  were  soon  speeding  on  our  way 
to  Kimolos. 

NOTE. 
On  the  Ancient  Gold  and  Silver  Mines  of  Siphnos, 

According  to  Herodotus,  Pausanias,  Strabo,  Pliny,  and  others, 
Siphnos  was  celebrated  in  antiquity  for  its  mines  of  gold  and  silver  ; 
and  these  authorities  further  tell  us  that  at  Siphnos  alone  gold  was 
found,  but  at  Thasos  and  Laurion  silver  was  also  discovered ; 
furthermore,  this  Siphniote  gold  was  not  dug  up  pure,  but  mixed 
with  silver. 

Now,  there  are  two  points  on  the  island  where  probably  we  can 
trace  the  existence  of  these  mines  :  one  of  them  is  now  called  *  the 
mine  of  the  Holy  Saviour,'  from  the  name  of  a  church  hard  by,  or, 
as  the  common  people  have  it,  *the  refuges'  [ja  Karat^vywi) \  the 
other  is  called  *  the  fissures.*  The  first  of  these  lies  to  the  north- 
east of  the  island,  and  is  close  to  the  sea.  The  entrance  is  exceed- 
ingly narrow  and  low,  but  when  inside  the  visitor  can  wander  for 
hours  without  reaching  the  other  end  ;  it  is  a  regular  labyrinth,  so 
that,  without  a  guide,  or  without  tying  a  string  to  the  entrance,  no 
stranger  ought  to  venture  in.     There  are  the  niches  still  visible 


SIPHNOS.  39 


where  the  ancient  workmen  put  their  lamps  and  tools  ;  the  sharp 
marks  of  the  chisel  are  still  visible,  also  of  places  where  wedges 
have  been  driven  in.  It  has  a  wonderfully  sparkling  appearance, 
as  if  silvered  all  over,  and  there  is  no  trace  of  anything  but  rock. 

On  the  cliff  outside  are  lots  of  little  hollows  called  *  furnaces ' 
{Kafiivia)  by  the  people,  and  apparently  they  have  been  used  for 
smelting  purposes  by  means  of  the  admixture  of  other  metals  or 
iron,  and  quantities  of  large  stones,  which  doubtless  contributed  to 
the  more  rapid  melting,  lie  about,  and  the  hollows  are  covered  with 
some  metallic  mixture.  Great  heaps  of  lead  refuse  lie  scattered 
about,  and  are  found  lower  down  on  the  cliff  close  to  a  little  church 
dedicated  to  St.  Silvester.  The  people  call  these  heaps  *  remains ' 
(Xeiylrava),  and  much  of  this  was  once  taken  to  Laurion,  because 
there  became  a  dearth  of  timber  in  Siphnos  for  smelting  purposes, 
and  the  hills  have  never  been  replanted. 

Past  the  promontory  which  juts  out  into  the  sea  just  beyond 
the  mines,  on  a  calm  day,  you  can  see  at  a  considerable  depth 
large  quantities  of  this  refuse,  and  also  the  traces  of  hand-made 
works,  from  which  we  may  infer  that  in  early  historical  times  there 
was  one  of  those  convulsions  of  nature,  so  common  in  these  parts, 
by  which  the  sea  rose  and  hid  the  entrance  to  other  mines. 
Pausanias  gives  this  as  the  probable  solution  of  the  legend  of 
Apollo's  wrath  and  the  destruction  of  the  gold  mines  when  they 
tried  to  cheat  the  god  of  Delphi  of  his  due  ;  and  the  stories  of  the 
former  wealth  of  the  Siphniotes  told  by  Herodotus  and  other 
historians  tend  to  corroborate  this  presumption. 

The  other  mine,  called  *the  fissures,'  lies  at  a  considerable 
distance  from  this  spot  on  the  slopes  of  Mount  Prophet  Elias.  Its 
entrance  was  unknown  till  a  few  years  ago  because  it  was  covered 
with  brushwood,  and  it  resemble!*  in  most  respects  the  other  mine 
in  its  labyrinthine  passages  and  silvery  appearance.  Inside  were 
found  lots  of  broken  vases  and  lamps,  which  had  belonged  to  the 
ancient  workmen.  Here  also  was  doubtless  found  sulphate  of 
silver,  as  there  are  traces  of  silver  on  the  walls,  and  around  are 
many  stones,  with  iron  in,  which  had  been  used  for  the  quicker 
smelting  of  the  metal. 

In  the  stream  beds  around  both  these  mines,  especially  after  a 
fall  of  rain,  are  found  quantities  of  vitrified  lead,  which  had  been 
burnt  in  these  furnaces,  and  which  the  people  carefully  collect ;  for 
the  potters  of  Siphnos,  after  the  manner  of  their  forefathers,  mix 
it  with  their  clay  to  prevent  its  expanding. 


40  THE  CYC  LA  DBS. 


Whilst  on  this  subject  I  must  notice  *the  Siphniote  stone,'  which 
Theophrastus  alludes  to  in  his  book  on  stones.  *  There  is  a  stone 
in  Siphnos,  found  about  three  stadia  from  the  sea  in  round  masses, 
which  is  easily  turned  with  a  lathe  and  sculptured,  when  it  is  burnt 
and  dipped  in  oil ;  and  it  then  becomes  very  black  and  hard/  They 
made  vessels  for  table  use  of  it,  and  the  Romans  made  use  of  it, 
too.  The  existence  of  this  stone  is  unknown  to-day.  Where  is  it  ? 
and  why  does  not  some  enterprising  geologist  go  to  Siphnos  and 
re-develope  this  industry  ? 


41 


CHAPTER   III. 

KIMOLOS. 

This  island  formed  a  surprising  contrast  to  the  last : 
instead  of  the  fertile  valleys,  the  rich  gardens,  and 
flower-clad  hills  of  Siphnos,  we  were  now  on  a  low-lying 
bare  island  of  volcanic  formation.  The  streaks  of  green, 
red,  and  yellow  rocks  which  have  come  out  of  one  of 
Vulcan's  crucibles  give  a  curious  weird  aspect  to  every- 
thing ;  the  soil  is  brown  and  thin,  and  not  a  tree  is  to 
be  seen.  We  landed  in  a  little  harbour  called  *  Green  ' 
(7rpd<nvo)y  from  the  rocks  which  surround  it.  We  walked 
on  a  little  way,  and  everything  became  red  ;  and  then  we 
went  a  little  further,  and  everything  became  white,  for 
now  we  were  at  a  quarry  of  a  sort  of  white  porous  stone, 
easy  to  cut  and  much  prized  for  building,  for  it  hardens 
with  time  ;  it  is  the  old  *  terra  Kimolia,'  out  of  which  the 
ancients  made  fuller's  earth.  Close  to  this  spot  quan- 
tities of  ancient  pots  and  tools  have  been  found,  and 
still  the  little  industry  of  the  place  is  in  this  quarry. 
Catques  down  by  the  Green  harbour  are  freighted  with 
this  stone,  which  is  taken  to  Athens  for  building  pur- 
poses. 

Captain  George  did  not  treat  us  well  on  this  occasion, 
for  he  had  deposited  us,  bag  and  baggage,  at  a  long  hour's 
walk  from  the  town,  where  no  animals  were  to  be  had, 
saying  that  in  winter  the  harbour  near  the  town  was 


42  THE  CYC  LADES. 


dangerous  ;  which  statement  we  found  to  be  not  exactly 
true  ;  but  Green  harbour  was  far  more  convenient  for  his 
return  to  Seriphos  :  hence  his  desire  to  put  in  there.  He 
was  a  true  descendant  of  his  illustrious  ancestors.  *  GrcBcA 
mercari  fide '  is  as  applicable  to-day  as  it  was  in  Roman 
times ;  and,  furthermore,  the  sin  of  lying  is  not  one  of 
the  offences  which  meet  with  the  disapprobation  of  the 
Eastern  Church. 

There  are  no  mules  in  Kimolos,  only  wretched  little 
donkeys  not  much  bigger  than  Newfoundland  dogs. 
On  one  of  these  Kera  Limoni^  was  returning  from  her 
fields,  and  passed  us.  She  was  off  in  no  time,  and  in- 
sisted on  use  being  made  of  her  animal.  Presently  we 
met  a  cavalcade  coming  for  us  from  the  town,  so  we 
restored  to  the  old  woman  her  ass.  If  the  donkeys  are 
small  in  Kimolos,  the  saddles  are  large,  and  apt  to  sway 
about  unpleasantly.  Riding  is  consequently  precarious 
work,  for  on  the  pack  saddles  of  the  island,  I  had  to  ride 
sidewise,  and  to  be  tipped  backwards  is  a  sensation  I 
only  cared  to  try  once.  So  in  Kimolos  I  preferred 
to  walk. 

It  had  got  quite  dark  by  the  time  we  reached  the 
solitary  town  of  the  island.  It  is  a  walled  town — that  is 
to  say,  like  many  of  these  island  towns,  the  backs  of  the 
houses  form  a  wall  all  round,  and  it  is  entered  by  a  gate 
at  either  end.  The  streets  were,  as  usual,  filthy,  and  the 
houses  entered  by  steps,  which  project  into  the  streets, 
below  being  the  stable,  the  warehouse,  and  the  pigsty.  On 
the  steps  were  platforms,  where  all  the  gossips  of  Kimolos 
sit  whilst  they  ply  their  spindles  and  pull  their  neighbours 
to  pieces.  When  we  issued  forth  next  morning  every 
platform  was  covered  with  a  staring  crowd,  and  it  was  a 
trying  ordeal  to  walk  down  the  main  street  in  imminent 
danger  of  stepping  off  the  narrow  ledge,  called  a  footpath, 
into  that  abominable  mire. 


KIMOLOS,  43 


Our  accommodation  at  Kimolos  was  not  very  grand  : 
the  house  had  only  two  rooms,  the  inner  of  which  was 
given  to  us  as  a  reception  room,  feeding  room,  and  bed- 
room. That  evening  we  had  a  crowd  of  visitors — the 
priest,  the  schoolmaster,  the  harbour  master,  the  doctor, 
the  demarch,  and  the  eparch  of  Melos,  who  chanced  to  be 
here  on  a  visit.  Men  and  women  of  an  inferior  grade 
feasted  with  their  eyes  upon  us  from  afar — that  is  to 
say,  from  the  other  end  of  a  room  about  fifteen  feet  long. 
There  was  a  window  at  the  head  of  our  bed  into  the 
adjoining  room,  where  slept  our  servant,  our  host. 
Captain  George,  and  goodness  knows  how  many  others. 
They  talked  in  a  high-pitched  key  all  night,  and  if  they 
wished  to  address  a  sleeper  they  called  him  by  name 
till  he  awoke  ;  rarely  throughout  the  night  was  there  a 
quarter  of  an  hour's  peace. 

And  then  the  little  oil  lamp  kept  burning  all  night 
before  the  household  sacrarium,  or  corner  full  of  sacred 
pictures,  is  a  great  nuisance.  By  daytime  these  sacraria 
are  pretty  features  in  a  house :  some  old  hallowed 
wooden  pictures,  worn  out  by  kissing ;  some  gaudy  new 
ones  from  Mount  Athos  in  gilded  frames  ;  the  wedding 
crowns  of  the  host  and  hostess,  enclosed  in  a  circular 
frame ;  a  few  religious  pictures  from  Russia  ;  and  the 
brazen  censer  in  which  on  Saturday  incense  is  burnt  to 
sanctify  the  house :  but  at  night  the  ever-burning  lamp 
casting  a  flickering  light  on  this  sacred  group  is  unplea- 
sant, especially  when  the  rays  fall  on  the  eikon  of  St. 
Michael  or  some  other  horrible  picture  of  a  saint  who  has 
undergone  tortures  innumerable.  Every  householder  has 
his  *  name  saint '  amongst  this  group,  and  the  day  for 
celebrating  the  birthday  is  the  day  of  the  saint. 

Next  day  we  found  our  hostess  and  other  ladies  of 
Kimolos  eager  to  come  in  long  before  we  were  dressed  : 


44  THE  CYCLADES. 

they  are  excessively  primitive  in  their  manners,  with 
little  modesty,  and  an  apparent  desire  to  be  hospitable  ; 
they  are  very  communicative,  too,  about  their  customs 
and  beliefs,  and  never  see  anything  ridiculous  in  the 
most  extraordinary  superstitions. 

Their  belief  in  vampires  {^povicoXaKSs)  here  in 
Kimolos  is  very  firm,  and  though  in  Greece  the  heads  of 
the  Church  are  now  set  against  allowing  the  people  to 
hold  such  beliefs,  which  at  one  time  were  in  a  measure 
sanctioned  by  the  Church,  yet  it  takes  a  long  time  to 
eradicate  superstitions  which  have  lived  for  centuries. 
It  a  dying  man  curse  himself,  or  any  enemy  of  his  shall 
curse  him  when  at  the  point  of  death,  that  man  will 
become  a  vampire.  The  earth  cannot  dissolve  his  body  ; 
he  will  wander  about  at  night  strangling  men  and  beasts, 
and  sucking  their  blood.  There  is  no  peace  for  him  in 
Hades,  no  peace  for  his  relatives,  for  he  returns  to  his 
home  and  *  feeds  on  his  own,'  as  the  expression  goes  ; 
he  brings  with  him  plagues,  typhus,  cholera  ;  the  grass 
dies  near  his  grave,  the  flowers  wither,  and  are  eaten 
by  worms,  ruin  comes  on  the  herds,  and  dogs  wander 
ominously  about  the  streets  howling  in  the  night 

Kimolos  and  Melos,  more  than  any  other  islands  of 
the  archipelago,  have  been  visited  by  pestilential  scourges ; 
consequently  in  these  islands  the  belief  in  vampires  is 
more  rampant  than  elsewhere  in  the  Cyclades,  except,  per- 
haps, in  the  wild  north  of  Andros.  And  during  the  piteous 
ravages  of  pestilence,  religion,  they  say,  alone  can  assist 
to  quell  the  spirit,  and  by  liturgies  alone  can  the  Papas  set 
things  right.  Now,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  we  do  not 
see  what  Tournefort  did  in  1700,  for,  except  in  Northern 
Andros,  they  do  not  exhume  the  body,  burn  it,  and  cast 
the  ashes  to  the  winds  ;  this  has  been  strenuously  for- 
bidden by  the  archpriests ;  but  what  they  still  do  in 


KIMOLOS,  45 


Kimolos  is  this  :  if  there  is  a  suspected  case  of  vampire 
they  go  to  a  priest — for  there  are  plenty  of  ignorant 
priests  who  pander  to  the  superstitions  of  the  people — 
he  accompanies  them  to  the  grave  of  the  supposed 
ghost,  and  on  bended  knee  they  supplicate  the  All- 
Merciful  to  have  compassion  on  this  wretched  being. 
*  May  he  be  after  death  for  ever  unloosed  like  stones 
and  iron/  says  the  Church  formula,  which  in  darker  ages 
was  written  by  Chrisophoros  Angelas  to  meet  this  emer- 
gency, and  on  the  grave  the  priest  pours  some  boiling 
water  and  some  vinegar.  After  this  ceremony  it  is  gene- 
rally observed  that  the  ghost  stops  his  wanderings  ;  many 
affirm  that  whilst  the  service  is  going  on  they  hear  the 
rattle  of  the  bones  as  they  settle  in  the  grave. 

This  idea  of  vampires  is,  of  course,  very  old  ;  nearly 
all  creeds  and  superstitions  have  taught  that  wicked  men 
cannot  rest  after  death.  Homer  tells  us  (*  Od.' :  ii.  49) 
that  the  shades  in  Hades  had  an  idea  that  by  filling 
themselves  with  blood  they  could  return  to  life,  and  con- 
sequently eagerly  supped  up  the  blood  of  slaughtered 
sheep.  So  now  a  poor  ghost  sucks  the  blood  of  a  relative, 
and  gains  for  himself  strength.  Vampire  dread  is,  how- 
ever, rapidly  on  the  decrease — I  doubt  if  a  single  one  of 
the  rising  generation  will  believe  it. 

These  are  not  the  only  kind  of  ghosts  they  have  in 
Kimolos ;  it  is  a  volcanic  island  full  of  caves  and  uncanny 
spots :  these  invariably  excite,  beyond  control,  a  belief  in 
the  supernatural ;  consequently  in  Kimolos  and  Melos 
all  sorts  of  old  superstitions  survive. 

If  they  build  a  house  they  will  kill  a  goat  and  a 
bird,  with  the  blood  of  which  they  make  a  cross  on  the 
foundation  stone ;  and  for  this  ceremony  the  Church  has 
an  office  and  a  prayer.  If  a  murder  has  been  committed 
in  a  house,  or  a  man  buried  at  midnight,  shadows  will 


46  THE  CYC  LADES, 


come  out  and  terrify  the  inhabitants.  At  houses  such 
as  these  they  get  the  priest  to  read  an  office  and  a 
prayer  to  drive  out  the  demon  ;  on  this  occasion  again 
the  Church  is  ready.  If  this  is  not  successful  the  house 
is  deserted,  and  just  outside  the  walls  of  Kimolos  are 
several  houses  which,  I  was  told,  were  deserted  for  this 
very  reason. 

On  the  hill  over  the  town,  near  some  windmills,  are 
quantities  of  caves  where  Nereids  dwell ;  *and  the  Nereids 
of  Kimolos,'  said  our  hostess,  *  perform  the  duties  of  ma- 
ternity just  as  we  do,  only  their  great  desire  is  to  have 
male  children ; '  she  illustrated  her  statement  by  the 
following  story.  *  One  day  a  Nereid  of  the  cave  was  ex- 
pecting her  confinement,  and  sent  for  the  regular  Mrs. 
Gamp,  of  Kimolos,  to  attend  upon  her,  saying,  at  the 
same  time,  "  If  it  is  a  boy  you  shall  be  happy,  but  if  it 
is  a  girl  we  will  tear  you  in  four  parts  and  hang  you  in 
this  cave."  Clever  Mrs.  Gamp  was  determined  not  to  be 
quartered  thus,  so  when  a  girl  arrived  she  made  believe 
it  was  a  boy,  swaddled  it  up  tightly,  and  went  home. 
Eight  days  afterwards  they  unpacked  the  child  and 
were  miserably  disappointed.  So  a  Nereid  went  down 
and  knocked  at  Mrs.  Gamp's  door.  Again  she  was  too 
cunning  for  them,  for  she  knew  the  rule  that  if  you 
answer  the  first  knock  of  a  Nereid  you  become  mad. 
So  the  spell  of  the  Nereids  was  lost,  and  could  not  hurt 
her ;  in  fact,'  concluded  our  hostess,  *  she  is  alive  to-day, 
and  can  tell  her  own  tale.* 

This  story  is  told  substantially  the  same  in  other 
islands  with  pleasing  varieties ;  in  Anaphi,  for  instance, 
they  say  that  the  Nereid  offered  Mrs.  Gamp  a  bag  of  gold 
if  the  child  was  a  boy.  Mrs.  Gamp  invented  the  same 
deceitful  plan,  but  the  Nereid  was  equal  to  her.  She 
sent  her  the  bag  indeed,  but  it  was  full  of  onions  instead 


KIMOLOS,  47 


y 


of  gold.  From  the  solemn  way  our  hostess  told  her 
story,  from  the  constant  corrections  of  those  around  if 
they  thought  she  was  not  telling  it  rightly,  we  could  but 
feel  sure  that  she  and  her  female  friends  firmly  believed 
in  this  interesting  episode  in  a  midwife's  career. 

The  morning  after  our  arrival  the  ladies  of  Kimolos 
were  very  busy,  for  it  was  St.  Katharina*s  Day.  They 
made  us  go  to  an  early  mass  first  in  the  Church  of 
St.  Katharina,  which  was  all  decorated  with  evergreens, 
daphnes,  myrtles,  and  flowers,  cyclamens,  basil,  &c. ;  from 
thence  we  went  to  the  Metropolitan  Church,  a  new  one 
just  outside  the  town,  which  had  been  built  only  recently 
by  the  joint  co-operation  of  the  males  and  females  of  the 
place,  who  gave  their  services  gratuitously :  the  women 
brought  all  the  materials  together,  prepared  the  mortar, 
and  did  all  they  could,  leaving  the  men  to  put  them  to- 
gether. The  Kimoliotes  are  a  very  pious  race  of  people. 
How  fervently  they  kissed  the  silver  eikon  of  the  '  guid- 
ing Madonna '  (17  Havayia  oSriyqTpca) !  and  what  a  lot 
of  money  the  priest  was  getting,  who  stood  at  the  door, 
as  he  gave  a  bit  of  sacred  bread  and  a  cross  of  sacred 
oil  to  each  who  passed,  and  got  in  return  the  money, 
the  *  return  gift '  {avrihtopov),  as  it  is  called  !  This  system 
of  gift  for  gift  is  very  marked  in  Greece  ;  if  you  give  a 
Greek  woman  a  trifling  present,  off"  she  will  set  to  her 
drawer,  and  fetch  you  something  she  thinks  an  equiva- 
lent to  your  gift :  there  is  something  painfully  barefaced 
about  it  to  our  ideas. 

We  witnessed  a  very  sad  case  in  this  church.  A 
poor  young  sailor  had  just  returned  the  day  before, 
raving  mad,  from  a  voyage,  and  his  fellow-sailors  gave 
the  following  account  of  the  cause.  As  they  rounded 
Cape  Malea  a  terrible  storm  came  on,  and  the  light 
called  Telonia  was  seen  at  the  m.asthead,  and  the  poor 


48  THE  CYCLADES. 


young  fellow  had  fallen  a  sacrifice  to  the  demons  of 
the  air. 

Greek  sailors,  like  Italian  ones,  who  call  them  *the  fire 
of  St.  Elmo/  have  a  firm  belief  in  the  evil  omen  of  these 
atmospheric  lights  ;  and  they  try  to  exorcise  them  with 
magic  words  or  by  shooting  or  beating  brass  instruments ; 
they  personify  them  still  as  birds  of  evil  omen,  which 
settle  on  the  masts,  just  as  Ulysses  did  on  his  travels. 
By  land,  however,  they  look  upon  them  as  demons,  which 
dwell  in  the  air,  and  prevent  the  migration  of  souls 
from  earth  to  heaven. 

The  poor  young  fellow  immediately  on  reaching  home 
had  been  taken  to  the  Church  of  the  Guiding  Madonna, 
for  it  was  evident  to  all  that  he  had  lost  his  reason, 
whether  these  strange  lights  had  been  the  cause  of  it  or 
not.  Whenever  a  person  becomes  delirious  or  wanders 
in  his  mind  the  doctor  is  sent  away,  and  the  priest  is  called 
in  ;  if  able  to  go  they  take  the  sufferer  to  the  church,  if 
not  the  priest  visits  him  at  home,  and  the  church  bell 
is  rung  to  drive  the  devil  away.  In  the  event  of  the 
patient  dying  in  torment  or  convulsion  the  priest 
preaches  to  the  sorrowing  bystanders  about  the  awful 
struggle  between  life  and  death,  heaven  and  hell ;  in 
the  event,  however,  of  his  recovery  the  priest  says,  *  This 
is  a  miracle,'  and  expects  a  handsome  donation. 

It  was  a  distressing  sight  to  see  the  young  man,  with 
wan  face  and  wandering  eye,  surrounded  by  his  sorrow- 
ing friends.  They  had  been  with  him  in  the  church 
praying  all  night,  and  they  intended  to  keep  him  there 
all  day,  hourly  hoping  for  the  Virgin's  favour  to  be 
granted  to  him.  I  felt  much  interested  in  the  poor  fellow, 
but  there  was  no  better  account  of  his  condition  before  we 
left  the  island. 

It  was  our  good  fortune  to  come  across  a  ceremony 
of  a  different  nature  in  a  house  we  went  into  soon  after. 


KIMOLOS.  49 


Some  girls  were  busy  making  what  they  told  us  were 
St.  Katharina's  cakes :  the  recipe  is  simple,  and  as  follows. 
Take  three  handfuls  of  flour  and  three  of  salt,  get  an  old 
woman  who  has  been  married  once  to  mix  these.  Then 
make  them  into  cakes  and,  tasteless  and  salt  as  they  are, 
eat  them  lying  down  and  call  upon  St.  Katharina  to 
intercede  in  your  behalf  and  send  you  a  husband.  When 
this  is  done  the  girls  try  to  go  to  sleep  and  dream,  if 
possible,  of  a  desire  to  drink  and  of  some  gallant  young 
man  handing  them  a  glass  of  water.  If  they  dream  this, 
the  young  man  is  the  husband  destined  'for  them  by 
St  Katharina,  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  their 
dreams  sometimes  turn  in  the  direction  of  a  desire  to 
drink  and  of  young  men  when  they  have  eaten  so  much 
salt  and  thought  so  much  about  husbands. 

I  never  saw  the  girls  again  to  ask  them  the  result  of 
their  experiment,  but  I  do  not  doubt  that  sooner  or  later 
they  will  find  helpmates,  for  they  were  pretty  girls,  with 
an  Ionian  type  of  countenance,  round  faces,  and  those 
curious  almond-shaped  eyes.  This  is  distinctly  the 
Kimoliote  type,  another  very  pretty  specimen  of  which 
appeared  to  us  that  evening  in  the  old  Kimoliote  costume, 
which  unfortunately  has  now  been  entirely  abandoned, 
except  on  rare  festive  occasions. 

On  the  head  is  a  thing  they  call  the  KovpXly  being  one 
of  those  Eastern  veils  we  use  as  antimacassars,  thrown 
over  a  ring  of  false  curls.  From  the  shoulders  to  the 
heels  was  a  robe  of  silver  brocade,  covered  with  gold  and 
coloured  flowers,  long  loose  sleeves,  and  stomacher.  The 
woman  was  well  adapted  to  show  this  dress  off,  being 
very  tall  and  handsome,  with  such  dark  almond-shaped 
eyes  and  such  a  mouthful  of  pearly-white  teeth,  or,  as 
they  express  it  here,  *  such  a  cave  full  of  white  horses,' 
that  she  seemed  quite  regal  to  look  upon. 

E 


50  THE  CYCLADES. 


They  talked  of  getting  up  a  dance  that  evening,  in 
which  all  the  women  were  to  appear  in  robes  like  this  ; 
but  it  was  delicately  hinted  to  me  that  I  should  be 
expected  to  stand  the  supper  and  pay  the  musicians ;  so 
I  told  them  as  politely  as  I  could  that,  with  the  prospect 
of  a  hard  day  before  us  on  the  morrow,  the  best  thing 
we  could  do  was  to  go  to  bed. 

In  spite  of  threatening  rain,  and  the  usual  difficulties 
attending  a  prospective  wetting  in  this  country,  we 
managed  to  get  off  pretty  early  next  morning  on  our  way 
to  a  hill  called  *  Old  Camp '  {iraXatoKaa-Tpo),  where  are 
the  ruins  of  the  old  fort  capital  of  Kimolos. 

When  once  the  present  town  is  left  behind  there  is 
very  little  trace  of  habitation  or  life  on  the  island.  A 
bright-eyed  shepherd  boy  accompanied  us  part  of  the 
way,  with  bare  legs  and  a  goat's  skin  bag  on  his  neck  : 
he  was  musical,  according  to  the  Greek  conceptions  of 
music,  and  sang  us  several  low,  monotonous  songs.  Then 
we  came  across  some  women  gathering  saffron  on  the 
hillside,  with  which  to  flavour  their  bread  and  their  fish  ; 
and  about  the  time  for  our  midday  meal  we  reached  a 
shed,  or  mandra^  close  to  the  old  camp,  where  a  shepherd 
lived  in  much  the  same  state  as  the  herd  of  Ulysses  lived 
in  on  Ithaca.  Dogs  came  out  barking  to  meet  us,  as  if 
we  had  been  Telemachus ;  and  we  stooped  to  enter  a  low 
cabin,  consisting  of  one  room,  made  out  of  large  stones 
roughly  piled  together,  and  letting  in  the  wind  at  nume- 
rous cracks.  Across  the  roof  ran  beams,  into  which  all 
the  articles  of  husbandry  were  thrust ;  a  place  for  a  fire  was 
in  one  corner  with  no  outlet  for  the  smoke  ;  in  another 
corner  was  some  straw  for  the  herdsman's  bed  ;  outside 
this  wall  was  the  semicircular  enclosure  for  the  cattle,  on 
the  wall  of  which  was  placed  dried  branches  of  prickly 
brushwood  to  prevent  them  from  escaping. 


KIMOLOS.  51 


The  view  from  here  was  more  curious  than  pretty ;  it 
seemed  as  if  in  the  centre  of  the  island  there  had  been 
the  crater  of  a  vast  volcano ;  and  it  is  still  called  *  the 
cone.'  Down  by  the  coast  we  were  pointed  out  a  spot 
where  hot  healing  springs  emanated  from  the  rocks,  and 
where  once  was  a  bathing  establishment ;  but  now  this  has 
almost  fallen  into  the  sea,  and  those  that  want  the  waters 
must  go  and  return  to  the  town  by  boat  all  in  one  day. 

*  Kimolos  is  the  spot,*  says  Tournefort,  *  where  cor- 
sairs spent  in  horrible  debaucheries  the  booty  they 
took  from  the  Turks/  Now  these  caverns  where  the 
corsairs  bivouacked  are  still  looked  upon  with  dread  by  the 
inhabitants,  for  from  their  volcanic  nature  the  rocks 
frequently  split  with  horrid  noises,  and  fall  to  pieces, 
thereby  terrifying  the  superstitious  labourer  as  he  sows 
or  reaps  his  crops. 

The  old  camp  has  a  grand  position  on  the  highest 
point  of  Kimolos,  and  has  traces  of  having  been  used, 
both  in  ancient  and  mediaeval  days,  as  the  acropolis  of 
the  island.  There  is  the  mediaeval  wall,  some  three  feet 
thick,  running  in  conjunction  with  the  ancient  wall  with 
colossal  stones ;  on  the  summit  are  cisterns  and  places 
of  sepulture,  now  used  as  shelters  for  cattle.  And,  indeed, 
we  were  glad  enough  to  take  shelter  ourselves  in  what 
presumably  was  once  a  reservoir,  for  the  rain  came  on  in 
torrents  ;  and  being  a  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  well 
on  in  December,  it  was  rather  cold.  But  on  our  return 
journey  the  sun  shone  out  once  more,  and  made  us  dry 
and  warm  before  we  reached  home. 

That  afternoon,  just  after  our  return,  my  wife  ad- 
mitted to  a  headache,  more  out  of  a  yearning  for  solitude 
and  repose  than  out  of  real  pain.  Without  a  moment's 
hesitation  our  hostess  went  to  fetch  her  mother,  an  old, 
withered  hag  of  seventy  or  more  years,  who  volunteered 

£  2 


52  THE  CYCLADES, 

to  cure  the  ailment  by  her  magic  art  and  the  accom- 
panying incantation.  Out  of  her  pocket  she  drew  a 
large  pocket  handkerchief,  in  a  corner  of  which  she  tied 
a  slip-knot.  This  knot  she  laid  on  her  knees  and  put 
her  elbow  on  it,  and  then  with  great  deliberation  pro- 
ceeded to  measure  to  the  opposite  corner  from  her  elbow 
to  the  middle  finger,  nipping  it  between  the  fingers  till 
she  laid  the  first  finger  of  her  left  hand  straight  across 
the  measured  mark.  The  handkerchief  went  three  times, 
and  about  four  inches  over ;  this  bit  of  four  inches  she  held 
in  her  left  hand>  and  waved  with  her  right  the  knot  vigor- 
ously across  and  over  the  sides  of  the  patient's  head, 
saying,  as  she  did  so,  the  following  incantation  : — 

Down  on  the  beach, 

Down  on  the  seashore, 

Thousands,  myriads  were  seated. 

And  were  vomiting  and  to  God  praying. 

When  Christ  went  by 

With  His  twelve  apostles,  and  said, 

*  What  is  the  matter.  My  children  } 

Why  are  you  vomiting  ?  why  are  you  being  purged  ? 
Why  are  you  imploring  the  aid  of  God  ? ' 

*  O  my  Master,  my  Christ ! 

You  know  all  the  secrets  of  the  world, 
Yet  do  You  not  know  the  things  that  are  plain  : 
We  have  a  sunstroke,  and  are  being  purged. 
And  are  vomiting,  and  we  are  imploring  God.' 

*  Put  cold  water  in  a  vase. 
With  it  the  leaf  of  a  myrtle 
And  the  shoot  of  a  bramble. 

Pray  then,  and  say, 
"  Holy  Panteleomon ! 
Holy  Anastasia ! 
Poison  and  cast  out  this  sun, 
The  pain,  and  all  the  evils  from  the  man."  ' 


KIMOLOS.  53 


Thanks  to  the  kind  interpretation  of  our  hostess,  I 
was  able  to  get  the  words  which  the  old  woman  mumbled 
in  an  inaudible  voice,  and  flatly  refused  to  repeat  more 
distinctly.  Then  she  measured  the  handkerchief  again 
in  the  same  way,  and  by  some  sleight  of  hand  it  only 
seemed  to  reach  three  times.  *Ah  ! '  she  exclaimed,  *  you 
are  sufifering  from  the  sun,  for  the  handkerchief  has  got 
shorter ;  if  you  have  nothing  the  matter  with  you  it 
remains  the  same  length,  if  you  are  suffering  from  the 
sun  it  gets  shorter.' 

After  dabbing  cold  water  on  the  patient's  head,  and 
muttering  the  same  incantation  over  again,  the  old  hag 
promised  immediate  relief  at  sunset ;  and  at  sunset  she 
measured  again  and  pronounced  the  cure  to  be  effectual; 
as  the  handkerchief  did  not  shorten.  The  patient  could 
have  told  how  the  pain  never  really  existed,  but  it  was 
only  kind  to  tell  the  old  thing  what  a  clever  doctress  she 
was.  By  what  sleight  of  hand  she  managed  to  measure 
the  handkerchief  shorter  and  longer  at  her  will  remained 
a  mystery  to  us,  though  we  watched  her  narrowly.  There 
are  a  great  many  of  these  charms  in  the  Greek  islands. 
In  Amorgos  I  saw  the  stomach-ache  charm.  Else- 
where they  have  incantations  that  they  sing  to  the  new 
moon  when  people  look  pale,  and  another  they  recite 
to  the  moon  and  to  flowers  is  reckoned  highly  bene- 
ficial for  those  fleshy  swellings  which  grow  on  the  hands, 
and  which  have  no  importance  beyond  inconvenience.  It 
runs  as  follows  : — 

I  bow  before  you,  new  moon  ; 

Glory  be  to  thee  wherever  thou  mayst  be, 

Basil  and  myrrh,  that  the  ants  may  eat. 

Now  warts  are  called  *  ants '  in  these  parts,  from  the 
numbers  in  which  they  come  :  hence  the  allusion.  Many 
others  are  utterly  mysterious,  and  only  known  to  certain 


54  THE  CYCLADES. 


old  hags,  just  as  in  ancient  Athens  secret  cures  were 
kept  up  in  families — medicated  rings,  prepared  plants, 
&c.  Plato,  in  his  *  Laws,'  treats  of  charms  and  incanta- 
tions, and  tells  us  that  the  accompanying  songs  were 
essential  to  success.  *  Without  the  incantation  the  herb 
would  be  of  no  avail*  (Charm,  p.  155).  In  Byzantine 
days  these  musical  incantations  were  in  great  repute,  as 
we  read  in  the  pages  of  Psellos  and  others  ;  and  amongst 
these  islanders  many  quaint  remedies  are  still  in  vogue. 
As  a  cure  for  jaundice  put  a  piece  of  gold  into  a  glass  of 
water  or  white  wine.  This  they  expose  to  the  air  during 
the  night,  but  are  careful  to  take  it  in  before  simrise.  They 
drink  it  on  an  empty  stomach,  and  in  two  or  three  days 
are  well.  The  idea  is  that  gold  will  attract  to  itself  and 
fix  in  the  water  that  substance  which  vivifies  everything, 
and  which  exists  in  the  midnight  air. 

We  bade  farewell  to  Captain  George  next  morning 
without  any  serious  pang :  he  was  busily  preparing  for 
his  return  to  Seriphos  with  a  favourable  breeze,  and  was 
evidently  quite  content  with  the  results  of  his  outing,  for 
he  was  humming  gaily  to  himself  one  of  the  island 
sailors'  favourite  couplets  : — 

The  sea  is  my  mother,  the  wave  is  my  brother, 
The  pebbles  on  the  shore  I  lovingly  adore. 

And  when  we  met  him  again,  in  Syra,  some  months 
later,  we  were  the  very  best  of  friends.  We  did  not  part 
from  our  host  and  hostess  of  Kimolos  in  quite  so  friendly 
a  fashion ;  they  evidently  looked  upon  us  as  legitimate 
prey,  and  charged  us  accordingly.  But  these  good  people 
are  not  well  up  in  the  ways  of  the  world  ;  give  them  what 
you  think  just  firmly  but  kindly,  and  when  they  see 
there  is  no  hope  of  getting  any  more  they  unblushingly 
give  in,  and  become  overpoweringly  friendly  again. 


KIMOLOS.  55 


It  was  our  plan  to  visit  a  spot  called  Hellenika 
before  crossing  over  to  Melos,  where  are  the  remains  of 
an  extensive  old  Hellenic  town  on  the  west  coast,  just 
opposite  Melos.  The  demarch  of  Kimolos  showed  us  a 
collection  of  treasures  that  he  had  dug  up  there  ;  the  pro- 
perty is  his,  and,  for  fear  of  having  to  give  up  his  treasure- 
trove,  he  goes  there  with  his  workmen  and  digs  by  night ; 
and  we  heard  fabulous  accounts  of  the  wealth  he  had 
acquired  by  his  *  finds/ 

The  ancient  site  of  the  town  of  Kimolos  has  been 
hunted  over  before  by  antiquarians,  for  Mr.  Brest  was 
consul  here  for  France,  and  in  1799  was  a  sort  of  king  in 
the  island  in  those  days  when  French  sailing  ships  used* 
to  take  their .  pilots  for  the  archipelago  from  Melos  or 
Kimolos.  A  special  French  consul  lived  on  Kimolos, 
because  the  ships  used  to  stop  in  the  good  harbourage 
which  lies  between  the  two  islands  ;  and  Mr.  Brest  used 
to  intercede  with  the  Kapitan  Pasha,  who  came  to  levy 
taxes,  on  behalf  of  the  inhabitants ;  consequently  he  was 
omnipotent  here.  Mr.  Brest  it  was  who  in  after-years 
discovered  the  Venus  of  Melos,  and  his  son  (now  an  old 
man)  is  still  everybody's  vice-consul  at  Melos,  and  a  man 
of  weight  From  Kimolos  old  Mr.  Brest  used  to  feed 
many  of  the  European  museums,  and  opened  many  profit- 
able tombs  long  before  the  demarchs  existed. 

From  the  extent  of  the  foundations  one  can  arg^e  that 
once  this  town  was  of  considerable  importance,  and  we 
are  told  that  silver  mines  once  existed  in  the  island,  and 
in  the  middle  ages  it  was  hence  called  Argentiere.  About 
200  yards  from  the  shore  at  Helleniket  there  is  a  rocky 
islet  called  St.  Andrew,  or  Daskali6,  which  is  covered  with 
remains  of  ancient  houses,  broken  statues,  and  graves  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea  ;  as  we  rowed  across  we  could 
-distinctly  see  a  lovely  sarcophagus,  which  the  boatmen 


;6  THE  CYCLADES. 


told  us  they  had  often  tried  but  never  succeeded  in  rais- 
ing. Amongst  the  islands  there  are  several  rocks,  just  off 
the  land,  near  an  ancient  town,  which  are  now  all  called 
Daskalio ;  there  is  one  off  the  old  capital  of  Kythnos, 
there  is  another  off  the  ancient  town  of  Karthaia,  in  Keos. 
The  prevalent  idea  is  that  they  were  once  places  for 
study  {hLha(TKa\sia\  where  philosophers  used  to  retire 
for  quiet ;  but  this  can  hardly  be,  for  there  are  traces  at 
Kimolos  of  the  rock  having  been  once  joined  to  the 
mainland  by  some  arches  of  wave-washed  rocks,  which 
stand  up  in  the  sea ;  so  that  it  would  appear  that  the 
waves  had  made  their  way  and  destroyed  a  natural 
breakwater :  consequently  the  retirement  of  the  philo- 
sophers must  have  been  seriously  interfered  with. 

On  the  mainland  there  are  foundations  of  houses, 
tombs,  and  hollow  caverns,  extending  for  a  long  way 
along  the  coast,  which  do  not  yet  seem  to  be  exhausted 
as  a  hunting  ground  for  treasures ;  for  as  we  walked 
along  we  found  almost  buried  in  the  sand  a  well-formed 
glazed  kylix^  which  gladdened  our  hearts  and  sent  us 
on  our  way  rejoicing. 

Between  Kimolos  and  Melos  the  strait  is  only  about 
half  a  mile  wide,  but  we  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
crossing  it.  There  is  a  regular  boat  which  is  supposed  to 
cross  when  travellers  require  it,  but  there  was  a  little 
breeze,  and  the  boatmen  affirmed  that  their  craft  was 
rotten,  and  only  sailed  when  the  sea  was  calm  ;  and  if  it 
had  not  been  for  a  soldier,  whom  the  eparch  had  given  us 
as  an  escort,  and  who  wished  to  carry  a  basket  of  fresh 
eggs  he  had  with  him  for  sale  at  Melos,  we  should  prob- 
ably have  had  to  pass  the  night  in  a  tiny  church  which 
is  used  as  a  signal-box  for  those  who  travel  between 
-the  two  islands. 


57 


CHAPTER   IV. 

MELOS. 

As  we  landed  on  Melos  the  sun  was  'seeking  his 
kingdom  in  flames  of  blood/  as  a  Greek  peasant 
would  say ;  for  he  is  a  wonderful  hand  at  personifying 
what  he  does  not  understand,  much  in  the  same  fashion 
as  his  forefathers  did.  The  sun  is  still  to  them  a  giant, 
like  Hyperion,  bloodthirsty  when  tinged  with  gold. 
The  common  saying  is  that  the  sun,  *  when  he  seeks  his 
kingdom,'  expects  to  find  forty  loaves  prepared  for  him 
by  his  mother  to  appease  his  hunger  after  his  long  day's 
journey.  Woe  to  her  if  these  loaves  are  not  ready  !  the 
sun  eats  his  brothers,  sisters,  father,  and  mother  in  his 
wrath.  *  He  has  been  eating  his  mamma  '  is  said  when 
he  rises  red  of  a  morning. 

To-night  Phcebus  Apollo  was  returning  angry  to  his 
palace,  foreboding  ill  to  man.  The  boatmen,  on  arriving, 
congratulated  themselves  on  having  crossed  safely.  *  To- 
morrow,' said  they,  *  we  shall  have  baurrini*  namely, 
those  fitful  storms  which  visit  these  islands  during  the 
forty  days'  fast  before  Christmas,  before  the  north  wind 
has  settled  down  into  the  steady  blow  which  generally 
makes  the  earlier  months  of  the  year  cold  in  Greece.  In 
the  crimson  evening  light  the  shores  of  Melos  looked 
anything  but  hospitable —bleak,  barren,  and  volcanic  on 
this  side  of  the  island,  which  is  fully  three  hours'  ride  from 


58  THE  CYCLADES. 


the  town  ;  there  were  only  three  fishermen's  hovels 
and  one  windmill.  This  spot  is  called  Apollonia,  and 
here  once  stood  a  temple  to  Apollo.  The  best  of 
the  hovels  was  indeed  a  sorry  place,  consisting  of  one 
room,  seven  feet  by  twelve,  containing  a  dirty  bed  on 
boards,  two  stools,  a  low  table,  and  a  mud  floor — even  the 
potter's  shed  at  Siphnos  looked  more  inviting  than  this. 
We  sat  down  moodily  to  eat  our  dinner,  which  consisted 
of  caviare,  rye  bread,  and  water ;  the  good  lady  of  the 
house  could  find  us  nothing  else.  She  was  very  poor,  she 
said  apologetically,  and  had  only  lately  lost  her  husband, 
who  lay  buried  in  the  sand  by  th^  seashore  hard  by. 
She  pressed  us  hard  to  stay  the  night,  promising  that 
she  and  her  daughters  would  rest  elsewhere,  and  that  we 
should  have  all  the  house  to  ourselves.  She  spoke  of 
the  terrors  of  the  way,  but  we  remained  firm  ;  and  as  soon 
as  a  quorum  of  donkeys  was  secured  we  set  off  by  bright 
moonlight,  at  half-past  six,  on  our  journey  towards  the 
town. 

I  have  seldom  seen  anything  look  more  weird  than 
Melos  did  by  this  light — great  yawning  caverns  on  either 
side  of  our  path  in  the  tufa  rocks,  which  stood  up  tall  and 
thin  like  towers  and  steeples.  One  of  our  muleteers  was 
a  lively  girl,  Ekaterina  by  name,  who  could  tell  us  the 
names  and  attributes  of  all  the  hobgoblins  that  haunted 
these  white  rocks.  She  was  a  bit  of  an  astrologer,  too, 
and  pointed  us  out  the  Pleiades,  the  Jordan,  Noah's  Ark, 
David's  chariot,  and  other  stars,  which  names  reminded 
us  of  the  ancient  ones.  Curiously  enough  the  Jordan 
is  nearly  always  used  in  modern  Greece  where  the  Nile 
was  anciently.  For  instance,  at  Delos  there  is  a  spring 
which  mysteriously  comes  up  from  underground :  the 
ancients  said  it  came  direct  from  the  Nile ;  to-day 
they  iell  you  it  comes  from  the  Jordan.     Again,  David's 


ME  LOS.  59 


chariot  is  the  old  chariot  re-christened,  the  Charles'  Wain 
of  Western  Europe. 

As  we  went  on  clouds  overshadowed  the  moon.  *  The 
storm  is  coming  on/  said  our  female  muleteer.  And  then 
she  went  on  to  explain  to  us  her  theory  about  rain  ;  how 
the  vault  of  heaven  is  full  of  holes  like  a  sieve,  and  how 
God  pours  water  on  to  it  out  of  skins,  and  sometimes  He 
squeezes  hard  and  sometimes  softly.  *  To-night  He  will 
squeeze  hard,*  she  said,  for  the  approaching  cloud  was 
densely  black.  So  we  turned  aside  into  one  of  those 
deep,  yawning  caverns,  mules  and  all,  and  our  muleteers 
collected  brushwood  with  which  to  make  a  roaring  fire, 
which  shed  lurid  rays  out  into  the  darkness  and  the 
descending  rain.  We  were  told  we  should  have  to  spend 
the  night  here,  but  this  we  flatly  refused  ;  and  as  soon 
as  the  violence  of  the  storm  was  over  we  set  off  again, 
and  reached  the  Kastro,  or  chief  town  of  Melos,  before 
eleven  o'clock.  With  the  exception  of  two  or  three 
villages  close  by,  the  Kastro  is  the  only  place  of  habitation 
in  the  large  island  of  Melos.  It  crowns  a  lofty  conical 
hill,  half-way  up  which  we  had  to  climb  before  we  reached 
our  destination.  This  time  we  were  to  be  taken  in  by  a 
military  man,  Mr.  Photopoulos,  who  at  our  first  knock 
refused  admittance,  thinking  we  were  thieves  or  brigands, 
for  no  steamer  had  touched  in  Melos  harbour  lately; 
there  was  no  possible  reason  to  expect  anybody.  Learn- 
ing, however,  through  the  keyhole,  that  we  were  English, 
and  knowing,  as  he  afterwards  told  us,  that  *  we  were  a 
capricious  and  daring  race,  capable  of  travelling  by  night, 
he  opened  his  doors,  and  gave  us  a  hearty  welcome. 

We  were,  by  comparison,  in  the  lap  of  luxury  under 
the  roof  of  the  Photopouloi.  He  had  a  charming  house, 
looking  down  upon  the  harbour,  and  took  great  pride  in 
telling  us  how  five  years  ago  he  had  arrived  in  M^los  a 


'■^ 


6o  THE  CYCLADES. 


penniless  officer  ;  how  he  had  won  the  heart  of  the  greatest 
heiress  in  Melos  ;  and  how  he  had  established  himself  in 
her  ancestral  home.  The  morning  was  bright  and  fine, 
and  we  were  enchanted  with  our  view.  Melos  is  a  long, 
narrow  island,  shaped  like  a  horseshoe  round  its  glorious 
harbour ;  at  one  extremity  is  the  inhabited  part,  the 
Kastro,  and  the  villages  around  it ;  at  the  other  extremity 
is  the  loTty  summit  of  Mount  Prophet  Elias  ;  whilst  the 
central  portion  is  comparatively  flat  and  fairly  fertile. 
No  island  in  the  archipelago  has  suffered  more  from  the 
vicissitudes  of  the  last  century  than  Melos.  During 
the  Turkish  rule  it  was  prosperous,  being  the  home  of 
hundreds  of  pilots  employed  by  the  French  corsairs,  who 
were,  comparatively  speaking,  at  that  time  masters  of 
the  Levantine  seas.  M.  Beneville  Tem^ncourt,  Chevalier 
d'Hoguinan,  and  others,  who  used  to  overrun  these  seas, 
brought  their  prizes  here  to  Melos,  as  to  the  central  fair 
of  the  archipelago,  and  the  townsfolk  of  Melos  welcomed 
them  gladly. 

As  a  proof  of  the  independent  spirit  of  Melos 
200  years  ago,  I  will  mention  the  career  of  a  corsair, 
Capsi  by  name ;  an  instance  of  one  of  these  princes 
who  ruled  for  an  hour.  In  1677,  with  the  support  of 
his  compatriots,  he  made  himself  judge — nay,  almost 
king — of  Melos.  He  was  a  clever  man,  and  governed 
with  considerable  tact ;  but  one  day  he  foolishly  listened 
to  some  specious  promises  given  him  by  the  Kapitan 
Pasha,  and  went  on  board  his  ship.  No  sooner  was  he 
safely  there  than  the  Pasha  set  sail  with  this  would-be 
king,  who  was  executed  shortly  after  at  Constantinople. 

Tournefort  tells  us  that  when  he  visited  Melos 
twenty  years  later  all  the  productions  of  the  island 
were  of  incomparable  excellence,  and  Consul  Brest 
stated  that  his  father  had  told  him  that  when  he  was* 


MELOS,  6 1 


young  Melos  was  most  fertile,  and  had  upwards  of 
20,000  inhabitants.  But  the  invention  of  steam,  and 
disease  have  combined  to  destroy  Melos  :  owing  to  the 
former  ships  do  not  find  it  necessary  to  stop  at  Melos, 
and  the  corsairs'  fair  has  been  long  since  abandoned ; 
and  owing  to  the  prevalence  of  the  latter,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  century,  the  inhabitants  thought  the  island 
was  under  a  curse.  The  old  capital  was  abandoned, 
numbers  fled  ;  and  if  it  were  not  for  refugees  from  Crete, 
Melos  would  be  now  almost  uninhabited.  Only  7,000 
are  now  left,  and  many  houses  in  the  Kastro  are  falling 
into  ruins.  There  is  lack  of  energy  nowadays  in  Melos, 
for  Syra  monopolises  all  the  trade  that  once  came  here, 
and  the  Cretan  exiles  refuse  to  cultivate  as  they  ought 
the  fertile  centre  of  the  island,  for  they  are  only  await- 
ing a  favourable  turn  in  events  to  return  to  their  own 
island.  Even  the  fishermen  complain  that  the  fish  have 
left  the  port,  owing  to  the  unscrupulous  use  of  dynamite 
of  late  years  as  an  easy  means  to  kill  the  fish.  If  only 
Melos  could  have  been  chosen  as  the  centre  of  commerce 
how  much  better  would  it  have  been  than  Syra !  The  har- 
bQur3 excellent,  and  then  ballast  could  he  taken  of  mil- 
spfiur^  salt,  and  millstones,  the  products  of  Melos,  whereas 
on  bare  Syra  they  can  get  nothing  but  common  stones. 

Mr.  Photopoulos,  in  full  uniform,  took  us  out  for  a 
walk  after  breakfast ;  and  we  directed  our  steps  up  to- 
wards the  citadel,  and  were  at  once  struck  with  the  great 
feature  of  Melos  ;  namely,  the  quantity  of  churches  and 
miracle-working  pictures.  This  is  easily  accounted  for  by 
the  numerous  plagues  which  have  swept  over  the  island. 
First  we  visited  *my  Lady  of  the  Sea'  (17  Tlava^ia 
OaXaaairpia),  the  pilots*  church,  high  up  on  the  hillside, 
where  the  Madonna  has  taken  the  place  of  Aphrodite 
evirXoiu,      Years    ago    this   church,  which   is   of  good 


62  THE  CYCLADES. 


Byzantine  style,  was  falling  into  ruins,  when  the  small- 
pox broke  out  badly,  and  a  pious  Meliote  dreamt  he 
saw  my  Lady  of  the  Sea,  who  bade  him  build  her  church 
anew. 

Over  a  side  door  are  the  arms  and  initials  of  John 
Crispi,  1553,  one  of  the  last  dukes  of  Naxos  ;  inside 
there  is  a  richly  carved  tempelon  of  doves  plucking  vine- 
tendrils  ;  the  women's  portion  of  this  church  {yvvaiKslov), 
which  is  on  one  side  overlooking  the  sea,  has  a  lovely 
view,  which  must  be  distracting  to  the  female  prayers  if 
they  have  any  soul  for  beauty  in  them.  Here  they  have 
an  altar  all  to  themselves,  and  can  hardly  see  into  the 
body  of  the  church.  In  former  years  the  seclusion  of 
the  fair  sex  was  more  stringent  than  it  is  now.  St. 
Basil,  so  runs  the  legend,  once  detected  a  woman  wink- 
ing at  an  officiating  deacon,  and  for  her  offence  her  sex 
was  doomed  to  be  veiled  off  from  the  males  :  this  veil  is 
now  altogether  abandoned,  but  is  usually  replaced  by  a 
screen  of  trellis-work. 

From  the  acropolis  the  view  is  still  lovelier.  From 
this  vantage  ground  the  pilots  used  to  strain  their  eyes 
and  telescopes  in  the  direction  of  Cape  Malea,  and  who- 
ever first  ascertained  the  name  of  a  ship  rushed  down  to 
Consul  Bres^t,  and  had  the  vessel  allotted  to  him  as  his 
job.  This  method  resulted,  as  may  be  supposed,  in  over 
much  squabbling  ;  so  now  it  is  ordered  that  each  pilot 
shall  have  a  vessel  in  his  turn. 

The  Kastro  and  the  surrounding  villages  are  built  of 
a  light  stone,  which  takes  a  darker  colour  in  the  air, 
having  somewhat  of  a  ginger-like  appearance  ;  it  is  ex- 
cellent for  sharpening  iron  upon,  and  is  undoubtedly  the 
pumice  of  the  ancients,  which  Pliny  mentions  as  being 
useful  for  softening  the  skin.  About  in  the  Kastro  and 
villag^es  there  is  stiJl  a  good  deal  left. 


MELOS,  63 


Of  the  old  costumes  the  headdress  worn  by  many 
women  is  called,  as  at  Kimolos,  the  KovpXl,  but  it  is 
worn  differently,  being  a  thin  white  muslin  veil  tied 
round  the  chin  and  then  bound  round  the  head  in  cross- 
ing folds,  and  hanging  down  behind.  Two  curls  appear 
or  either  side,  and  with  a  blue  dress,  and  sometimes, 
though  now  rarely,  a  stomacher,  we  have  the  everyday 
dress  of  a  Meliote  woman.  At  the  village  of  Triobasalla, 
about  two  miles  from  the  Kastro,  we  saw  the  dress  they 
wear  on  Sundays  and  feast  days — quite  an  elaborate 
costume. 

For  the  headdress  they  have  a  padded  foundation, 
edged  with  gold  lace,  over  which  they  twist  the  muslin 
handkerchief ;  their  jacket  is  of  purple  silk  edged  with 
fur,  and  their  skirt  is  of  satin  spangled  with  white 
flowers  ;  a  stomacher  of  silvered  brocade,  and  a  silk 
gauze  apron  edged  with  old  Greek  lace,  and  dainty  little 
shoes  complete  the  costume. 

As  we  wandered  amongst  the  villages  near  the  Chora, 
we  found  many  interesting  objects  for  observation.  At 
Trypete,  so  called  from  the  holes(T/oi;7n7)  or  rather  ancient 
tombs  cut  in  the  rock  close  to,  we  found  them  hard  at 
work  dancing  this  same  Sunday  evening.  What  invete- 
rate dancers  these  Greeks  are  !  There,  in  a  small  room 
about  fifteen  feet  square,  they  were  performing  the  ^r/^i*. 
The  children  of  the  family  had  been  piled  on  the  bed, 
boxes  and  articles  of  daily  use  had  been  roughly  shoved 
away  into  corners.  Crowds  of  people  were  looking  on, 
yet  the  charmed  circle  was  well  kept,  and  the  dancing, 
though  not  so  good  as  what  I  saw  elsewhere,  was  fair 
enough,  and  some  of  the  local  steps  were  pretty.  The 
people  of  Trypet^  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  their  dead 
ancestors,  for  the  tombs  in  the  rocks  make  excellent 
stables  for  their  mules,  pigsties,  and  offices. 


64  THE  CYC  LADES. 

There  is  another  village  close  to  called  Nychia,  or 
^Ovv^ia^  from  the  idea  that  giants  have  clawed  the  vol- 
canic rocks  with  their  nails  (opv^si).  This  is  supposed 
to  be  a  very  ghostly  place,  where  many  people  have 
been  seized  by  uncanny  Nereids,  as  also  are  the  valleys 
of  Plathena  and  Pheropotamos,  a  clayey  spot,  where 
women  have  been  known  to  disappear  altogether  in  the 
mire.  Fishermen  say  they  hear  women  singing  about 
here,  and  stones  are  hurled  at  their  boats,  which  cause 
them  great  trepidation.  I  am  convinced  the  reciters 
of  these  stories  thoroughly  believe  in  them  themselves, 
for  they  will  tremble  as  they  relate  them  and  cross 
themselves  vigorously. 

Another  village  close  to  the  Kastro  is  called  Plaka, 
and  here  is  a  church  dedicated  to  the  *  Virgin  of  the 
Rushes,*  for  a  black  picture  of  her  was  found  amongst 
some  reeds  not  far  from  this  spot.  They  took  it  to  the 
then  capital  of  the  island,  Zephyria,  but  a  pestilence  broke 
out,  and  they  were  obliged  to  bring  it  back  and  build  a 
church  for  it  here.  A  short  distance  beyond  Plaka  is  a 
tiny  little  church  dedicated  to  the  manifestation  of  the 
Virgin,  where  a  very  curious  custom  is  still  observed, 
not,  however,  so  frequently  as  it  used  to  be,  for  it  is 
against  the  law.  When  a  child  becomes  emaciated 
they  say  it  is  struck  by  the  Nereids,  who  dance  in  the 
dry  bed  of  a  river  close  to  this  church.  If  no  physic 
benefits  the  little  sufferer  it  is  an  obvious  case  of  Nereid 
disease,  and  the  only  cure  for  this  is  to  take  it,  strip  it 
naked,  and  leave  it  on  the  cold  marble  altar  of  this  little 
church  for  a  season.  To  effect  a  radical  cure  the  child 
should  remain  there  all  night,  but  the  mother  is  afraid 
of  detection,  so  dare  not  leave  it  there  so  long.  If  the 
babe  survives  this  treatment  it  is  not  struck  by  the 
Nereids,  and  the  parents'  peace  of  mind  is  restored  ;  but 


MELOS, 


if,  on  the  contrary,  as  often  happens,  this  treatment  is 
fatal,  the  parents  are  content  to  think  that  God  has 
willed  that  their  darling  should  fall  a  victim  to  those 
evil  spirits.  The  little  church  is  a  quaint  spot.  The  high 
altar  on  which  they  place  the  children  rests  on  a  fluted 
pillar  of  ancient  date,  for  the  spot  is  just  over  the  ruins 
of  the  old  town  and  the  vale  of  Klima,  which  we  decided 
to  visit  at  the  end  of  our  stay  in  Melos ;  for,  as  the 
weather  looked  favourable  again,  we  thought  it  best  to 
take  advantage  of  it  to  visit  the  deserted  western  horn 
of  the  island. 

Accordingly  next  morning  we  set  off*  in  a  boat 
to  cross  the  harbour.  As  we  went  we  had  a  better 
opportunity  of  realising  its  beauty  and  extent :  it  could 
hold  all  the  navies  of  the  world  within  it,  and  it  is/^ 
protected  by  an  island  at  its  mouth.  On  the  western 
point  is  a  mountain  called  the  Vanis,  a  wild,  bleak  spot, 
on  which  our  boatman  told  us  that  it  was  the  custom  to 
throw  bread  when  they  sailed  out,  that  Vanis  might  eat 
and  send  them  fish  in  return. 

On  the  opposite  side  are  two  or  three  houses  used  by 
wealthy  Meliotes  as  summer  resorts ;  one  of  them  belonged 
to  Mr.  Photopoulos,  who  gave  the  key  of  it  to  our  escort, 
the  soldier,  and  bade  him  make  us  as  comfortable  as  he 
could.  But  what  a  place  it  was !  The  walls  were  run- 
ning down  with  damp,  not  a  dry  rag  could  be  found  to 
put  upon  the  bed,  no  means  of  warmth  whatsoever.  So 
we  gladly  took  refuge  in  a  neighbouring  cottage,  where 
a  farmer  lived,  who  cooked  us  a  trifle  whilst  our  mules 
were  being  captured  and  got  ready. 

Few  expeditions  in  the  Cyclades  are  more  repaying 
than  this  one  to  the  Convent  of  the  Iron  St.  John  (XiBrjpo- 
ycawi)y  on  the  western  horn  of  Melos.  The  path  takes  you 
in  an^  out  of  wild  valleys  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Prophet 

F 


66  THE  CYCLADES, 


Elias.  Scarcely  a  house  is  passed  on  the  road— only  a 
mandra  or  two,  and  goatherds  near  them  tending  their 
flocks.  For  a  second  time  in  Melos  we  had  a  female 
muleteer,  an  intelligent  girl  of  about  ten,  who  busied 
herself  in  gathering  for  us  the  red  arbutus  berries  (still 
called  KOfidpoi)j  which  were  just  now  ripe,  and  the  gorges 
were  lovely  with  them.  We  passed  by  cleft  after  cleft  full 
of  oleander,  and  locust  trees,  wild  olives,  cedars,  and  wild 
mastic,  the  black  berries  of  which  our  damsel  made  us 
taste  :  they  are  simply  horrid,  and  taste  of  varnish,  but 
the  peasants  about  here  are  very  fond  of  them,  and  put 
them  instead  of  anise  seed  into  their  rye  bread.  In  this 
dense  jungle  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountain  we  turned 
up  lots  of  woodcock  and  coveys  of  red-legged  partridges, 
and  came  across  two  or  three  sportsmen  from  the  Kastro 
with  their  dogs. 

Our  girl  muleteer  was  quite  a  botanist  in  her  way. 
She  first  picked  us  a  sprig  of  a  sort  of  thyme  {dvfislov)  with 
long  spikes,  which  she  told  us  was  reckoned  exceedingly 
warming  and  genial  to  an  aching  stomach,  and  then  a 
bunch  of  an  exceedingly  sweet  aromatic  herb,  which  she 
said  they  bruised  and  put  into  nuptial  couches.  Then 
she  knew  the  different  plants  that  were  used  as  salads — 
the  wild  cabbage  and  so  forth — and  those  that  they  only 
give  to  cattle  ;  but  she  had  an  utter  contempt  for  flowers 
— cyclamens,  anemones,  daisies.  Whatever  we  asked  the 
name  of,  her  reply  was  always  the  same,  *  Bah  !  those 
are  only  loulouthia,  not  good  for  anything.' 

On  the  slopes  of  Mount  Prophet  Elias  we  were  told 
that  wild  goats  are  found  ;  we  only  saw  tame  ones,  and 
they  were  plentiful  enough  ;  and  in  the  mandras  we 
passed  we  saw  heaps  of  kids  with  scarecrows  near  them  to 
frighten  away  the  eagles.  The  Mount  of  the  Prophet  is  a 
fine  conical  one,  on  the  summit  of  which,  as  a  matter  of 


MELOS.  67 

course,  there  is  a  church  dedicated  to  the  modem  sun 
god  :  the  slopes  are  of  a  reddish  rock,  with  streaks  of  red 
earth  here  and  there,  which  is  used  for  making  roofs  to 
houses.  And  through  the  bright  green  carob  trees  the 
views  of  the  red  mountain  and  blue  sea  were  exquisite. 

About  midday  we  reached  the  convent ;  not  a  soul 
was  there  ;  the  church  was  open,  and  so  was  the  court- 
yard, and  the  sheds  around  where  people  pass  the  night 
who  go  to  the  two  yearly  pilgrimages.  Before  reaching 
the  building  we  passed  through  a  wild  waste  of  rock, 
and  on  each  rock  the  pilgrims  with  pious  intent  place 
little  cairns  to  indicate  to  the  saint  that  if  they  are  well 
they  will  return  next  year.  With  each  stone  they  wish  a 
wish,  and  if  every  wish  were  answered,  thought  we,  what 
a  happy  people  those  of  Melos  would  be  !  They  do  this 
still  in  the  East — a  relic  doubtless  of  the  old  custom  of 
raising  menhirs— and  along  all  the  main  routes  stone 
monuments  are  erected  by  Moslem  pilgrims  at  the  point 
where  a  shrine  first  becomes  visible. 

There  is  a  curious  legend  attached  to  this  desolate 
spot.  Years  ago,  when  a  festival  was  being  held  here, 
pirates  were  seen  to  be  approaching,  and  the  people 
crowded  for  safety  into  the  church,  the  doors  of  which 
shut  of  their  own  accord,  and  were  immediately  barred 
with  iron  by  the  kindly  interposition  of  St.  John.  One 
daring  robber  climbed  upon  the  dome,  and  tried  to  fire 
down  on  those  inside,  but  his  hand  withered,  and  the 
pistol  fell  from  it.  The  pistol  is  still  preserved  and 
much  thought  of  by  the  pious ;  close  to  it  were  preserved 
some  other  relics— stirrups,  &c — the  value  of  which  I 
could  notleara  The  spot  is  an  enchanting  one,  and  the 
view  from  the  courtyard,  with  its  spreading  locust  tree, 
under  which  the  pilgrims  erect  booths  at  the  time  of  the 
feast,  is  well  worth  the  pilgrimage  thither,     A  few  miles 


68  THE  CYCLADES, 


out  to  sea  is  the  island  of  *  Desert  Melos '  (Erimomelos, 
or  Antimelos),  which  rises  sheer  out  of  the  sea,  and  from  a 
distance  looks  as  if  it  would  be  impossible  to  land  thereon. 
I  rather  wanted  to  visit  it  during  my  stay  in  Melos,  but 
learning  that  there  was  not  a  house  on  it,  and  that  in 
winter  I  might  be  detained  there  for  days,  I  was  forced 
to  give  up  the  idea,  and  be  content  With  what  the  Meliote 
sportsmen  told  me  about  the  curious  species  of  deer 
which  lived  there,  and  which  from  the  description  I 
fancied  must  resemble  the  mouflon  of  Corsica,  and  about 
the  ancient  cistern  there  which  is  never  dry  in  summer, 
and  which  has  steps  into  it  so  that  the  animals  can  go 
down  to  drink  as  the  water  recedes.  If  this  account  be 
true  it  is  evident  that  Erimomelos  in  ancient  days  must 
have  been  used  as  a  sporting  ground  for  the  Meliotes. 

After  a  wretched  night  in  Mr.  Photopoulos'  summer 
residence  we  set  off  early,  breakfastless  and  cross,  on 
our  ride  home  round  by  the  centre  of  the  island,  not 
over-grateful  to  our  friend  who  had  promised  us  we 
should  find  every  luxury  and  convenience  over  here. 

An  hour*s  ride  brought  us  to  the  Convent  of  St 
Marina,  now  nearly  in  ruins,  but  which  was  once  the 
richest  convent  in  Melos.  Here  we  were  told  that  we 
should  get  our  breakfast,  but  it  consisted  only  of  rye 
bread,  with  black  mastic  berries  in  it,  coffee,  and  a  pull  at 
a  public  raki  bottle.  In  the  church  there  were  evidences 
of  former  grandeur — rich  carvings  and  frescoes — rapidly 
falling  into  decay  ;  for  the  few  peasants  who  now  live  in 
the  cells,  and  have  made  a  hamlet  out  of  the  remains  of 
the  convent,  do  not  interest  themselves  much  in  their 
church  beyond  sweeping  it  out  in  turn  and  keeping  the 
lamp  burning  before  the  altar. 

After  leaving  this  spot  we  entered  upon  the  low  cen- 
tral part  of  the  island,  where  the  soil  is  perfectly  alive 


MELOS.  69 


with  volcanic  matter.  On  a  slight  eminence  about  half- 
way between  the  two  seas  is  what  one  might  call  a  natural 
Turkish  bath,  much  frequented  by  Meliote  invalids.  It 
is  doubtless  a  volcanic  crater,  on  the  top  of  which  a  rude 
shed  has  been  built.  On  entering  you  descend  a  gentle 
slope,  which  leads  into  a  small  hole  with  three  stone  stools 
in  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  where  the  temperature  is  steam- 
ing hot—  hotter  than  the  hottest  room  in  any  Turkish 
bath  I  ever  knew.  Here  in  summer  time  rheumatic 
patients  come,  and  after  the  operation  of  sweating  is 
over  they  recline  on  beds  made  of  straw  and  olive  twigs 
in  the  shed  above  to  accomplish  the  cooling  process. 

All  around  the  country  is  covered  with  vineyards, 
which  at  one  time  must  have  been  fertile  enough,  but 
now  for  want  of  men  to  look  after  them  they  are  fast 
becoming  wastes  of  stone ;  a  few  variegated  cedars  grow 
about  here,  otherwise  it  is  a  bare,  uncanny  spot — a  great 
contrast  to  the  verdant  slopes  of  Mount  Prophet  Elias 
that  we  had  passed  through  the  day  before. 

And  now  we  were  approaching  the  ill-fated  town  of 
Zephyria,  until  fifty  years  ago  the  recognised  capital  of 
the  island,  and  bearing  the  very  ancient  name  by  which 
Melos  was  once  known.  It  is  built  at  the  end  of  a  plain, 
along  which  a  stagnant  stream  spreads  itself  out  in 
winter,  but  which  is  in  summer  a  waste  of  salt  and  pesti- 
lential exhalations.  No  wonder  Zephyria  was  unhealthy, 
a  perfect  hotbed  of  pestilence.  The  town  must  have 
been  well  and  substantially  built ;  some  good  stone  houses 
and  several  churches  are  still  standing,  but  all  untenanted 
and  empty.  Here  was  the  palace  where  the  dukes  of 
the  Crispi  family  held  their  court,  and  now  the  outer 
streets  are  mere  masses  of  ruins  with  the  roofs  tumbled 
in,  a  home  for  ravens  and  bats.  A  few  houses  are  used 
as  stores  for  those  who  farm  the   neighbouring  fields 


70  THE  CYCLADES. 


and  olive  gardens.  Only  thirty  years  ago  Ross  found 
some  miserable  people  dwelling  here.  A  few  years  before 
that  Gouffier  tells  us  how  'these  wretched  inhabitants 
are  yellow  and  swollen,  their  bellies  enormous,  their  legs 
horribly  swollen,  permitting  them  with  difficulty  to  drag 
themselves  about  amidst  the  ruins  of  their  town.' 

In  the  centre  still  stands  the  Church  of  St  Chara- 
lambos,  the  saint  whose  special  office  it  was  to  ward  off 
the  plague  ;  and  he  still  can  be  seen  therein  on  a  crum- 
bling fresco  in  the  form  of  a  hideous  wizard  trampling 
disease  under  foot,  with  smoke  issuing  out  of  its  mouth. 
It  is  rather  a  handsome  Romanesque  building,  with  two 
domes,  in  many  parts  roofless,  and  with  long  shreds  of 
canvas  hanging  therefrom,  on  which  once  pictures  had 
been  painted.  A  tree  is  growing  in  the  middle  of  the 
porch,  a  few  tall  palms,  lots  of  olives  and  fig-trees  mingle 
well  with  the  ruins,  and  make  them  look  highly  pictu- 
resque. There  is  another  church,  that  of  the  Virgin  of 
the  Basket,  so  called  because  tradition  says  a  picture  of 
the  Virgin  was  found  in  a  basket  on  the  sea,  which 
was  being  carried  by  the  waves  in  the  direction  of 
Zephyria ;  from  this  church  all  the  ornaments  have  been 
taken  to  adorn  a  like-named  church  which  they  have 
built  down  by  the  harbour  of  Ad^manta,  where  many  of 
the  fugitives  from  Zephyria  have  established  themselves. 

Luckily  for  us,  there  were  lots  of  people  over  in 
Zephyria  that  day  who  had  come  to  pluck  their  olives  ; 
so  we  were  able  to  get  some  wine  from  them  and  make 
friends  with  an  old  man,  Peter  Kromidonis,  who  remem- 
bered Zephyria  as  far  back  as  1821,  when  there  were 
1,500  families  living  here,  twenty-four  churches,  and  no 
thought  of  abandoning  the  place.  We  sat  down  in  an 
open  space  in  front  of  the  Church  of  St.  Charctlambos  to 
refresh  ourselves. 


MELOS.  yi 


*  This/  said  the  old  man,  *  was  the  ag^ora  of  our  town. 
Yonder  corner  house  was  the  cafe  which  I  kept,  and 
where  my  wife  and  nine  children  all  died  of  the  pesti- 
lence.' Poor  old  man !  he  seemed  broken  down  with 
cares  and  ague,  but  it  seemed  a  pleasure  to  him  to  tell 
us  his  reminiscences,  so  we  encouraged  him  to  go  on. 

*  I  was  almost  the  last  person  to  leave  this  town,'  he 
continued.  *  Up  to  ten  years  ago  I  kept  on  at  the  old 
cafd,  but  at  last  no  one  came  near  me.  All  my  belongings 
were  dead,  so  I  thought  I,  too,  would  go,  though  I  wished 
to  leave  my  bones  here;'  and  he  looked  round  affection- 
ately at  the  deserted  spot,  and  shortly  afterwards,  point- 
ing to  a  piece  of  a  Corinthian  column  in  the  middle  of 
the  square,  he  said,  *That  was  where  criminals  were 
executed,  and  where  innocent  folks  were  stripped  naked 
and  flogged  in  the  times  of  the  Turkish  Aga.' 

*  How  was  it  the  pestilence  of  Zephyria  could  not  be 
checked  ? '  we  asked. 

*  It  all  arose  from  the  curse  of  a  priest,'  was  his  reply, 
as  he  solemnly  crossed  himself ;  and  knowing  the  current 
belief  in  modern  Greece  that  by  his  curse  a  priest  can 
inflict  any  evil  on  the  object  of  his  denunciation,  and 
that  this  belief  gives  them  their  firmest  hold  on  the 
minds  of  the  people^  we  asked  for  further  particulars. 

*  The  priest  was  really  a  bad  man,'  he  said,  crossing 
himself  again,  *  and  was  proved  to  have  led  an  immoral 
life  ;  so  one  day  the  people  stoned  him  so  that  he  had 
to  hurry  ovt  of  the  town  for  his  life  in  the  direction  of 
Kimolos.  When  still  in  sight  of  the  city  he  took  off 
his  hat,  lifted  up  his  hands,  and  cursed  it,  praying  that 
no  stone  should  be  left  on  the  other.  Shortly  afterwards 
a  plague  broke  out,  and  other  diseases  in  turn,  until  the 
wretched  survivors  finally  abandoned  it  altogether.'  And 
as  we  heard  this  tale  we  thought  of  Chryses,  the  priest 


72  THE  CYC  LADES. 


of  Apollo  at  Tenedos  praying  for  the  pest  to  be  used 
as  an  instrument  for  the  recovery  of  his  daughter. 

'  What  happened  to  the  priest  ? '  I  asked. 

*  We  don't  know/  replied  the  old  man,  'except  from 
what  the  muleteer  who  accompanied  him  told  us.  He, 
when  he  saw  the  priest  cursing,  fell  on  his  knees  in 
terror,  kissed  the  priest's  feet,  and  implored  not  to  be  in- 
cluded in  the  curse,  and  the  man,  old  Photis  by  name, 
died  only  four  years  ago  at  a  ripe  old  age.' 

Such  is  the  belief  in  the  power  of  a  priest  over 
disease.  Likewise  also,  by  the  reading  of  prayers  and 
exorcisms,  they  can  check  an  epidemic  just  as  easily  as 
they  can  produce  one  ;  and  this  power,  the  people  say, 
is  delegated  to  them  by  the  saints.  St.  Char*tlambos 
and  St.  Besarion  ^w^  to  the  priests  of  their  altar 
power  over  the  plague  ;  St.  Mavra  and  St.  Barbara  do 
likewise  to  their  priests  during  an  epidemic  of  small-pox. 
And  very  often  the  derived  power  originates  in  the  saint's 
name  ;  for  instance,  St.  Jacob  (' Ay to9  ^^Afcov<f>o9)  heals 
deafness  {Kov<f>oSy  deaf),  St.  Eleutherios  gives  relief  to 
women  in  childbirth  (iXsvOsplay  freedom),  St.  Therapon 
of  Lesbos  cures  (OspaTrevsi)  all  manner  of  diseases.  In 
this  manner  it  will  be  easily  realised  how,  in  the  Greek 
Church,  different  saints  are  considered  as  useful  in  dif- 
ferent circumstances.  A  Greek  becomes  confidential  to 
his  saint,  especially  his  name  saint,  whose  picture  is 
hung  in  the  sanctuary  in  his  bedroom.  God  to  him  is  a 
mystery  unapproachable ;  the  saint  it  is  who  is  supposed 
to  act  as  mediator  between  God  and  man. 

Curious  beliefs  about  diseases  are  wildly  current  now- 
adays. Many  believe  that  all  maladies  which  attack  the 
human  frame  are  worms  created  by  the  wrath  of  God 
— a  simple  way  of  explaining  the  bacilli  theory — or  else 
they  are  devils  which  get  into  the  body,  and  can  only  be 


ME  LOS.  73 


cured  by  holy  offices.  Warts,  for  example,  which  some 
say  have  come  from  counting  the  stars,  can  be  removed 
by  a  prayer  to  the  Virgin  in  church  and  by  rubbing 
them  on  the  glass  of  the  church  windows. 

As  may  naturally  be  supposed,  unhealthy  Melos  is 
still  full  of  people  who  are  supposed  to  know  charms 
for  producing  cures  {yrjTsvTal).  Knowing  this,  we  put  a 
question  to  our  old  friend  as  to  what  means  they  took 
to  check  the  noisome  pestilence  which  ruined  Zephyria, 
and  he  told  us  some  curious  accounts  of  what  they  did 
here  not  so  many  years  ago ;  and  if  they  do  not  do 
these  things  now  it  is  not  for  want  of  belief,  but  from 
the  discouragement  superstitions  are  now  meeting  with 
from  the  higher  clergy. 

About  the  time  the  pestilence  was  at  its  worst  a 
cow  had  twin  calves  ;  this  was  looked  upon  as  an  omen 
not  to  be  lightly  passed  over.  So  after  forty  days  they 
yoked  the  calves  and  ploughed  a  portion  of  ground,  in 
the  middle'  of  which  they  slaughtered  the  twins  and 
distributed  their  flesh  to  the  poor.  But  this  sacrifice  had 
no  avail  against  the  priestly  imprecation.  Then  they 
decided  on  February  lo,  the  day  of  St.  Charalam- 
bos,  to  *boil  the  diseases,'  that  is  to  say,  forty  once 
married  women  wrote  the  names  of  a  lot  of  illnesses  on 
scraps  of  paper  :  these  were  boiled  in  a  caldron  with 
some  money  and  a  cock,  but  all  of  no  avail.  Yet  another 
plan  was  resorted  to :  the  forty  women  made  a  garment 
in  one  day,  which  they  hung  up  in  St.  Charilambos* 
Church,  and  next  day  they  cut  it  into  bits,  and  distributed 
them  to  the  poor ;  but  the  result  was  the  same — the 
imprecation  was  triumphant. 

Public  charms  and  ceremonies  such  as  these  will 
probably  never  happen  in  Greece  again,  but  private  acts 
of  superstition  are  still  numerous.     We  have  seen  how 


74  THE  CYCLADES. 


they  exposed  children  supposed  to  be  smitten  by  the 
Nereids  on  the  altar  of  the  Virgin's  Church ;  they  do 
exactly  the  same  thing  at  the  entrance  of  some  cata- 
combs which  we  were  to  visit  presently  in  the  vale  of 
Klima,  and  with  their  incantations  they  believe  that 
they  can  drive  diseases  into  animals,  trees,  and  cliffs  ;  for 
example,  they  believe  that  by  leaving  bits  of  the  clothes 
of  sick  persons  near  stones  the  disease  will  be  drawn 
into  the  stone.  Round  the  neck  of  a  fever-stricken 
patient  they  bind  a  string  and  then  remove  it  and  bind 
it  round  a  tree,  muttering  mystic  words  at  the  same  time, 
and  suppose  that  they  are  binding  the  fever  to  the  tree. 

Euphemisms  for  diseases  are  as  common  in  modern 
Greece  as  they  were  in  ancient  days.  The  small-pox  is 
called  svXoyla ;  epilepsy,  yXv/cv,  or  to  KoKoy  for  epilepsy, 
above  all  diseases,  is  looked  upon  as  a  mysterious  sacred 
malady  curable  only  by  the  priests.  *  Is  it  not  a  devil,' 
they  will  say,  *  which  possesses  the  man  ?  What  can 
drugs  avail  in  this  case  ?  *  And  in  this  belief  we  are  car- 
ried back  to  the  days  of  Hippocrates  (*  De  Morbo  Sacro,' 
tom.  2),  who  laughed  at  the  charlatans  and  magicians 
who  pretended  that  epilepsy  was  a  sacred  malady  cur- 
able only  by  priestcraft.  Child's  colic,  again,  they  call 
TO  yXvfcif  Tov ;  abscesses  on  the  hand,  KoXar/KaOt ;  the 
plague  was  known  as  the  *  pardoned  disease '  (77  0-1/7- 
XcopsfiivT)  v6ao9) ;  whilst  other  ailments  of  minor  impor- 
tance are  known  as  the  '  unintentional '  (ra  afis\hr)Ta),  \^ 

Our  old  friend,  as  we  talked  over  the  ills  of  Zephyria, 
grew  warm  on  the  subject  of  curses.  '  Never  shall  I  for- 
get,' he  said,  *  the  wretched  Koubelos,  who  cursed  himself 
whilst  dying.  His  brother  went  to  bed  well,  and  next 
morning  was  found  strangled,  with  black  finger-marks 
on  his  neck.  Even  the  prayers  of  the  priests  availed 
nothing  in  this  case ;  everyone  was  in  despair.  At  length 


MELOS.  75 


an  old  man  learned  in  magic  advised  them  to  open 
Koubelos'  tomb,  cut  out  his  heart,  burn  it,  and  scatter  the 
ashes  to  the  winds,  and  then,  after  tying  up  the  rest  of 
the  body  in  a  sack,  to  sink  it  in  the  sea.  Terrible  was  the 
sight  on  opening  the  grave :  the  corpse  was  black  in  the 
face,  the  finger-nails  had  grown  a  span  long  and  were 
bathed  in  the  blood  of  his  victims  !  His  hair  was  long,  his 
eyes  wild,  and  when  they  sank  the  body  in  the  sea  the  dis- 
turbance was  such  that  boats  were  nearly  swamped.  The 
plan  adopted,  however,  was  successful  ;  Koubelos  never 
came  again  ;  but  to  this  day  Meliote  mothers  threaten 
their  naughty  children  with  a  visit  from  Koubelos.' 

It  was  quite  time  now  to  leave  Zephyria,  about  which 
old  Kromidonis  had  conjured  up  such  horrible  remi- 
niscences. Though  haunted  by  no  vague  dreads,  yet  I  felt 
that  this  city  of  the  dead,  with  its  ruined  houses  and 
tottering  churches,  was  about  the  last  place  in  which  I 
should  care  to  spend  the  night ;  so  we  mounted  our 
mules,  and  proceeded  down  the  plain,  full  of  stagnant 
water,  to  the  seashore,  visiting  by  the  way  a  small  house 
which  is  used  as  a  salt  factory,  and  a  deep  hole  on  the 
slope  of  a  gentle  eminence,  where  is  an  alum  bath,  and 
where,  we  were  told,  people  go  to  cure  the  itch.*  The 
cave  was  very  warm  inside,  and  the  recollection  of  the 
disease  that  here  was  cured  made  us  as  chary  of  stopping 
long  as  we  once  were  in  a  church  of  St.  Barbara  where 
small-pox  patients  were  said  to  be  brought.  Close  to 
the  sea  are  some  singular  caves  ;  one  in  the  shape  of  a 
large  round  room  supported  by  a  central  column  bears 
evidence  of  having  been  used  as  a  church :  a  narrow 
passage  inside  connects  it  with  the  other  side  of  the 
rock,  and  all  about  ar^  evidences  of  tombs. 

'  In  ancient  times,  says  Pliny,  the  Meliote  alum  was  most  in  repute 
after  that  of  Egypt. 


76  THE  CYCLADES. 


Melos  is  an  island  productive  of  curiosities  in  nature. 
We  have  but  to  turn  to  the  pages  of  Pliny  to  learn  how 
esteemed  all  these  things  were  in  ancient  times.  There  was 
the  Meliote  earth  used  for  drawing,  the  pumice-stone 
used  for  polishing  leather,  and  the  above-mentioned  alum. 

That  evening  we  slept  at  Adamantas,  the  village 
>^  I  down  by  the  port,  about  half  an  hour's  ride  from  the 
Kastro,  where  all  the  business,  little  though  it  is,  of 
modern  Melos  is  carried  on  ;  and  here  has  been  erected  a 
new  church  to  the  honour  of  our  lady  of  the  basket,  and 
from  Zephyria  they  have  brought  a  tempelon,  five  hundred 
years  old,  covered  with  lovely  carving  and  symbolistic 
figures  and  all  the  sacred  treasures,  one  of  which  is 
curious  enough,  being  a  piece  of  plank  with  a  hole  in  it, 
and  a  picture  painted  on  it  to  explain  its  meaning.  A 
huge  swordfish  pierced  a  ship  and  dragged  it  all  on  one 
side,  and  in  their  extremity  and  dismay  the  sailors  called 
on  our  lady  of  the  basket  for  help,  and  she  removed  the 
obnoxious  swordfish,  and  on  their  return  to  Melos  they 
hung  up  the  plank  that  the  fish  had  pierced,  thus  painted, 
as  an  offering  of  thanks. 

Adamantas  is  an  exceedingly  uninteresting  place  to  be 
obliged  to  stay  at  for  three  days  whilst  waiting  for  one  of 
those  wretched  Greek  steamers  which  ply  between  Crete 
and  Syra,  and  stop  at  Melos  on  the  way ;  and  our  discom- 
fort wa?  increased  by  the  fact  that  the  English  squadron 
had  touched  at  Melos  only  a  few  days  before,  and  had 
seized  upon  all  the  provisions  in  the  place  ;  yet  whilst 
waiting  many  points  of  interest  offered  themselves.  We 
frequently  visited  Consul  Brest,  and  had  interesting  con- 
versations on  Melos.  Moreover  he  gave  us  an  excellent 
pot  of  vegetable-marrow  and  almond  jam  to  help  us  in  our 
evil  day  ;  but  we  looked  grudgingly  at  some  woodcock 
on  his  stairs,  which  we  longed  for,  and  could  not  get,  as 


MELOS,  77 


they  were  to  be  sent  to  Syra  by  the  steamer ;  and  it  was 
our  one  consolation  in  the  eventual  delay  to  learn  that  all 
these  woodcock  went  bad  and  had  to  be  thrown  away. 

We  visited  a  collection  of  objects  of  antiquity  which 
were  for  sale — not  retail,  but  wholesale — a  hopeless  state 
of  affairs  with  the  lynx-eyed  Greek  Government  officials 
to  get  past ;  we  visited  a  priest  who  had  brought  his 
family  from  Crete ;  consisting  of  a  fat  wife  and  sixteen 
children,  for  poor  Greek  Papas,  like  poor  English  par- 
sons, are  a  prolific  race.^  He  was  anxious  to  sell  some 
of  the  Church  lace,  of  which  we  bought  a  little,  doubting 
when  he  told  us  that  it  was  for  the  benefit  of  the  saint. 
We  visited  a  washerwoman  who  was  bleaching  her  clothes 
in  a  big  basket  by  putting  ashes  from  her  wood  fire  on 
them  as  they  soaked  ;  and  we  visited  two  old  women  who 
were  very  busy  preparing  cotton  for  their  loom. 

Cotton  is  a  great  industry  in  Melos,  for  every  garment 
and  every  article  of  household  use  is  made  at  home. 
The  old  women  were  just  now  engaged  in  putting  the 
raw  material  through  a  small  hand  instrument  called 
fidyyavo9y  which  turns  two  rollers  different  ways  ;  this  is 
to  free  it  from  the  seed.  The  next  process  is  to  beat  it 
with  a  large  bow  (ro^eveiv)  made  out  of  a  bending  reed 
stretched  tightly  with  a  cord  ;  and  it  requires  to  see  one 
of  these  instruments  to  understand  a  Meliote  riddle 
which  had  perplexed  me  sorely.  '  My  current  is  crooked, 
but  my  water  runs  straight.'  Answer :  *  A  cotton-beater.' 
Could  anything  at  first  sight  appear  more  inexplicable  ? 

After  being  loosely  beaten  by  the  string  of  this  bow 
the  particles  of  cotton  which  have  now  become  detached 
are  drawn  together  so  as  to  form  a  loose  rope,  which  is 
wound  to  the  distaff,  called  poxa,  an  Italian  name,  but 
the  spindle  is  still  known  by  the  old  name  of  arpa/cro. 

*  *  In  five  months  three  children  to  the  priest '  is  a  proverb. 


yS  THE  CYCLADES, 


Nothing  is  more  picturesque  than  to  see  a  Greek 
island  woman  spinning  on  her  roof  or  on  her  balcony, 
occasionally  letting  her  spindle  whirl  down  into  the 
street.  When  dyed  to  the  required  colours  the  woman 
then  sets  to  work  with  her  loom,  a  most  complicated 
piece  of  machinery,  which  occupies  a  corner  in  every 
cottage.  Here  in  Melos  they  call  it  Kpa^^areplay  from  its 
likeness  to  a  bed  (Kpa^^dri)  ;  elsewhere  it  is  known  as  an 
*  dpyaXeoVy*  or  something  hard  to  do,  reminding  one  of 
the  old  Homeric  use  of  the  word.  Some  of  their  produc- 
tions in  stripes  and  patterns  of  colour,  yellow,  red,  green, 
and  blue,  are  beautifully  executed,  but* to  earn  anything 
by  a  loom  is  a  thing  exceedingly  hard  to  do. 

We  rowed  about  the  harbour  in  a  boat,  not  daring 
to  go  far,  for  any  moment  the  steamer  might  come ; 
and  we  went  to  see  the  lazaretto  of  Melos,  consisting  of 
houses  or  holes  excavated  in  the  volcanic  rock,  like  those 
of  Santorin.  One  day  we  almost  decided  to  give  up 
waiting  for  the  steamer,  and  take  a  caique  to  Phole- 
gandros,  but  the  wind  rose  shortly  before  we  started, 
and  very  thankful  were  we  afterwards  that  we  did  not 
attempt  anything  so  rash.  And  all  this  time  we  were 
lodged  in  a  most  humble  house,  in  a  veritable  quiverful 
of  children,  but  the  people  were  kindly  disposed,  and  did 
everything  they  could  to  amuse  us  in  the  evenings  ;  they 
sang  for  us,  they  played  the  lyre  for  us  ;  and  very  pretty 
were  the  words  of  some  of  their  songs,  though  the  music 
was  to  us  monotonous,  drawled  out  like  that  hideous 
music  of  the  Eastern  Church,  so  distasteful  to  a  Western 
ear  ;  but  the  beautiful  idea  is  present  in  every  song.  A 
tree  withers,  ^and  why  ?  Because  two  lovers  plighted 
their  faith  beneath  its  branches,  and  that  faith  is  broken. 
Again,  like  the  flowers  of  the  almond  tree  shone  her  face. 
Whosoever  shall  turn  to  look  upon  it  will  faint  before  her. 


MELOS.  79 


Ideas  such  as  these  follow  each  other  in  rapid  succession. 
I  should  like  to  have  heard  a  lament  over  the  dead 
at  Melos,  but  was  told  to  wait  patiently  till  I  got  to 
Mykonos,  where  I  should  hear  them  best. 

We  heard,  too,  several  of  the  fables  with  which  old 
crones  delight  to  amuse  their  grandchildren,  irapafivdia 
they  call  them,  many  of  which  remind  one  forcibly  of 
iEsop.  In  Amorgos  I  was  told  the  fable  of  the  struggle 
of  the  sun  and  the  wind  to  make  a  man  take  off  his 
coat,  and  the  ultimate  victory  of  the  sun  ;  and  from  the 
remoteness  of  this  island,  and  its  little  intercourse  with 
the  world,  it  is  puzzling  to  divine  how  it  got  there.  The 
following  is  a  Meliote  fable,  as  told  by  an  old  woman 
who  was  summoned  for  the  purpose :  it  is  a  fair  specimen 
of  the  kind. 

*  Good  evening,'  said  she,  coming  in ; '  many  years  to 
you  ; '  and  then  she  squatted  down  on  her  haunches 
and  began : — 

'  Once  upon  a  time  an  old  woman  went  to  gather 
sticks,  that  she  might  light  a  fire  to  warm  herself; 
and  to  find  the  sticks  she  went  to  a  waste  bit  of  land,  and 
at  the  end  of  this  waste  she  saw  a  house ;  and  as  she  was 
getting  sticks  it  came  on  to  rain,  and  for  fear  of  getting 
wet  the  silly  old  thing  went  to  the  house,  and  on  enter- 
ing twelve  handsome  young  Pallicars  met  her.  "  Good 
hour  to  you,  my  Pallicars,"  says  she.  "  Same  to  you,  old 
woman,"  they  replied.  "  Why  do  you  come  here  in  such 
bad  weather  ? "  "Ah,  my  children !  I  am  a  poor  old  thing, 
and  I  came  to  gather  a  few  sticks  to  keep  out  the  cold, 
for  my  house,  my  children,  is  but  a  ruin ;  the  roof  is 
coming  in,  and  the  rain  and  the  cold." 

*  Then  one  of  the  young  men  said  to  her,  "  Tell  us 
now,  widow,  which  of  all  the  months  is  the  worst," 
"  Ah,  my  child ! "  answers  the  shrewd  old  woman,  all  the 


8o  THE  CYCLADES, 


months  are  alike ;  none  of  them  are  bad,  all  of  them  have 
their  good  points  and  their  bad."  "  But,  my  good  widow," 
continued  he,  "how  can  January  resemble  May?"  "My 
child,"  replied  she, "  if  it  did  not  rain,  and  there  was  no  bad 
weather  in  January,  then  May  would  not  have  his  flowers." 

*" Have  you  got  a  sack  with  you?"  they  enquired, 
and  the  old  woman  gave  them  one  she  had  with  her 
for  gathering  grass  for  the  cattle,  and  they  filled  it  with 
florins,  and  she  went  home  to  her  village.  When  her 
sister  saw  her  she  said, "  Good  gracious,  sister !  where  did 
you  get  these  florins  from  ? "  and  the  old  woman  sat  down 
and  told  her  story ;  whereupon  the  sister  on  the  next 
day  took  the  biggest  sack  she  could  find,  and  made  as  if 
she  would  go  to  gather  grass,  and  found  the  same  house 
and  the  twelve  Pallicars  therein.  She  entered  and 
greeted  them  and  sat  down.  "  How  is  it  you  are  here, 
widow."  "  To  gather  sticks,"  she  replied,  "  for  now  the 
wretched  cold  month  of  January  is  come,  and  I  cannot 
keep  my  cottage  warm." 

* "  ^'Afifie !  *  tell  us  which  of  the  months  you  like 
best,"  they  said.  "  I  like  none  of  them,"  was  her  reply, 
"  for  some  are  so  cold  and  bad,  I  do  not  know  which  is 
the  best ;  perhaps  February,  for  he  has  only  twenty-eight 
or  twenty-nine  days,  or  March  with  the  five  winds,^ 
March  the  pole  burner;'  all  the  others  are  fire  and  heat" 
Then  they  said,  "  You  have  a  sack,  widow,"  which  she 
joyfully  gave  to  them,  and  they  filled  it  full  of  snakes, 
vipers,  scorpions,  and  all  the  evils  of  the  black  earth, 
and  they  gave  it  to  her  saying,  "  When  you  get  home 

'  An  expression  in  the  islands  for  *  Come,  now  1 '  in  which  may  be  seen 
a  trace  of  ^fiai,  to  go. 

*  So  called  from  his  changeableness. 

■  So  called  because  a  peasant,  not  having  laid  in  enough  wood,  think- 
ing March  would  be  warm,  had  to  bum  the  poles  to  which  his  young  trees 
were  bound. 


,  I 


ME  LOS,  8 1 


I 


shut  your  doors  and  windows,  and  open  the  sack  care- 
fully, for  there  is  great  treasure  therein."  So  the  old 
woman  did  so,  and  opened  the  sack  as  she  had  been 
told,  when,  lo !  out  came  the  scorpions  and  devoured  the 
old  woman  because  she  had  no  control  over  her  tongue. 
Be  guided  by  me,  and  never  trust  to  your  own  powers 
of  speech.' 

The  moral  of  this  fable  is  so  essentially  the  giving  of 
praise  to  where  a  Greek  thinks  praise  is  due,  namely,  to 
the  astute  flatterer  who  gets  his  gain  by  cunning  and 
fair  speeches. 

At  four  o'clock,  in  the  middle  of  a  pouring  night,  the 
steamer's  whistle  was  heard,  and  though  we  had  to  put 
into  Siphnos  for  two  days  during  a  storm,  for  our  steamer 
was  unseaworthy,  and  though  we  arrived  at  Syra  nearly 
a  week  behind  our  time,  yet  we  had  two  consolations 
— first,  that  if  we  had  started  for  Pholegandros  in  a 
caique  we  should  never  have  got  there ;  and  secondly, 
that  the  woodcock  went  bad. 


NOTE. 
On  the  Antiquities  of  Melos. 

I  must  now  refer  to  the  ruins  that  are  left  at  Melos,  of  the  city 
which  once  dared  to  resist  the  will  of  Athens,  and  which  suffered 
from  that  once  proverbial  *  Meliote  starvation '  (Xt/io?  M^Xtoy),  a 
trite  saying  amongst  the  Athenian  wags  because  the  Meliotes 
dared  to  resist  the  power  of  Athens,  and  failed. 

Can  this  one  town  of  Melos  have  ever  been  of  such  importance  ? 
is  the  question  at  once  suggested  as  you  enter  the  narrow  gorge  of 
Klima,  in  which  contracted  defile  all  that  was  inhabited  in  ancient 
Melos  was  contained.  It  is  a  lovely  position  indeed,  sheltered 
from  all  the  biting  winds,  and  overlooking  the  harbour  and  Mount 
Prophet  Elias  ;  but  could  it  ever  have  held  a  population  of  suffi- 
cient numbers  to  merit  the  place  given  to  it  in  the  pages  of  history  ? 

Herodotus   tells   us   that  the  inhabitants  of  this   little  town, 

G 


82  THE  CYCLADES. 


together  with  those  of  Seriphos  and  Siphnos,  were  the  only  island- 
ers who  refused  to  give  earth  and  water  to  the  heralds  of  Darius. 
It  naturally  occurs  to  one  that  perhaps  these  islands  were  too  small 
and  insignificant  to  have  made  it  worth  the  heralds'  while  to  go 
and  collect  those  emblems  of  subjection. 

When  the  Peloponnesian  War  broke  out  (431  B.C.)  Thucydides 
tells  us  that  Melos  and  Thera  were  the  only  islands  which  re- 
fused to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  Athens.  The  Meliotes,  as 
he  explains,  being  a  colony  from  Lacedaemon,  resented  the  lordship 
of  their  natural  foe.  Feeling  the  necessity  of  securing  Melos,  for 
its  harbour,  doubtless,  and  not  wishing  to  leave  an  outpost  for  their 
enemies  in  their  very  camp,  the  Athenians,  in  426  B.C.,  sent  an 
armament  of  two  thousand  hoplites  to  subdue  them,  without  avail ; 
however,  shortly  afterwards  another  armament  seems  to  have  been 
sent,  with  a  more  satisfactory  result ;  so  that  in  425  B.C.  we  find 
Melos  entered  on  the  inscription  discovered  on  the  acropolis  at 
Athens  as  contributing  fifteen  talents  to  the  forced  supply — that  is 
to  say,  as  much  as  the  large  islands  of  Naxos  and  Andros,  but 
only  half  of  what  the  rich  Paros  was  forced  to  pay.  Melos  was, 
however,  again  refractory,  and  then  followed  the  celebrated  siege 
of  this  place,  which  Thucydides  so  graphically  describes,  and  the 
final  overthrow  of  the  power  of  Melos  by  three  thousand  hoplites 
sent  from  Athens,  arguing,  as  the  remains  prove,  that  the  town  of 
Melos  cannot  have  been  a  place  of  great  strength.  The  remains 
that  have  been  found  in  the  vale  of  Klima,  nevertheless,  clearly 
point  to  great  wealth ;  the  stately  terraces  of  colossal  stones  which 
still  adorn  the  hill  slopes,  the  two  theatres,  and  so  forth,  prove  her 
advance  in  art  to  have  surpassed  that  of  the  other  islands  of  the 
Cycladic  group  except  Paros  and  Delos. 

As  we  descended  from  the  Kastro  to  the  vale  of  Klima,  we 
could  not  help  thinking  that  perhaps  the  position  of  Melos  made 
it  easier  work  for  the  three  thousand  hoplites  than  one  imagined 
at  first,  for  the  town  is  hemmed  in  by  mountains  on  two  sides, 
and  on  the  third  by  the  sea ;  and  with  our  minds  full  of  the  terrible 
scenes  which  once  had  been  enacted  here  we  descended  slowly 
into  the  vale  of  Klima.  Our  first  visit  was  to  a  point  which,  from 
a  church  thereon,  is  called  Prophet  Elias,  where  are  some  granite 
pillars,  two  feet  in  diameter,  the  remains  of  a  frieze  and  border. 
Perhaps  this  platform,  standing  a  considerable  height  above  the 
town,  was  the  old  acropolis  of  Melos.  To  the  south-east  of  this 
hill  are  some  seats  made  of  tufa  rock  in  the  form  of  a  semicircle. 


MELOS.  83 


No  doubt  the  remains  of  a  small  theatre,  some  steps  further  on,  is 
the  substratum  of  a  temple,  with  remains  of  large  Corinthian 
cornice  pieces  of  bluish  marble,  and  the  centre  piece  of  a  fronton 
with  a  round  Argolis  shield  in  bas-relief  upon  it.  These  ruins  the 
inhabitants  call  the  palace  of  the  king  of  Melos,  as  elsewhere 
colossal  walls  go  by  the  name  of  the  dragon's  house,  for  every  ruin 
must  of  necessity  have  a  legend  attached.  Here,  too,  during  the 
late  war  a  statue  of  -^sculapius  was  found.  Evidently  in  ancient 
times,  as  inscriptions  prove,  ^sculapius  and  Hygeia  were  wor- 
shipped in  Melos,  as  now  are  St.  CharMambos  and  other  saints 
considered  beneficial  to  an  unhealthy  spot. 

A  little  lower  down  are  the  remains  of  the  greater  theatre,  which 
the  Crown  Prince  of  Bavaria  bought  in  1836  to  protect  them  from 
obliteration ;  yet,  notwithstanding,  stones  are  rolling  down  over  it 
and  constantly  chipping  off  bits  of  the  marble  seats,  seven  rows  of 
which  are  still  perfect ;  but  it  is  easy  still  to  see  how  much  higher 
it  formerly  was.  It  would  appear  that  it  was  never  entirely  finished, 
for  the  tenons  which  have  been  used  for  placing  the  marble  are  not 
moved ;  perhaps  the  destruction  of  Melos,  incident  on  the  Athenian 
War,  came  before  the  completion  of  the  work,  for  the  construction 
of  the  theatre  is  of  the  best  Greek  period,  and  after  the  destruction 
of  the  town  Melos  was  never  in  the  least  flourishing  again  till  the 
Roman  days. 

About  two  hundred  yards  from  the  theatre  is  the  spot  where 
the  Venus  of  Melos  was  found.  The  discovery  occurred  in  the 
following  manner  :— A  peasant,  in  February  1820,  wished  to  extend 
a  little  terrace  field  he  had  here  by  pulling  down  a  heap  of  stones, 
and  in  doing  so  discovered  a  sort  of  mound,  and  having  cleared 
the  place  he  found  therein  in  confusion  three  statues  of  Hermes, 
bits  of  marble,  a  plinth  with  inscriptions,  and  the  now  celebrated 
statue  of  Aphrodite  in  several  pieces.  Mr.  Brest  at  once  bargained 
for  this  treasure,  but  the  peasant  asked  more  than  Mr.  Brest  wished 
to  give,  so  he  sent  off  to  the  French  ambassador  at  Constantinople 
for  advice  and  money;  but  before  the  messenger  returned  the 
Meliote  authorities  began  to  suspect  its  value,  and  determined  to 
make  a  present  of  it  to  a  Greek  hospodar  in  favour  with  the  Sultan. 
Whenvthe  messenger  returned,  with  full  authority  from  the  French 
ambassador  to  purchase  at  once,  he  found  the  object  of  his  quest 
in  a  boat  on  its  way  to  a  ship  carrying  the  Turkish  ensign.  Owing 
to  great  liberality,  and  the  superhuman  exertions  of  Mr.  Brest,  the 
priceless  statue  was  secured  for  the  Louvre  and  France. 

G  2 


84  THE  CYCLADES. 


Evidently  the  Meliotes  had  purposely  buried  their  statues,  and 
the  knowledge  of  this  has  made  the  vale  of  Klima  the  Eldorado  of 
collectors  ever  since.  Some  years  ago  M.  Lambratsis,  an  antiquarian 
at  Athens,  bought  a  bit  of  ground  on  the  flat  space  down  by  the 
harbour  with  the  intention  of  digging  for  hidden  treasures.  At 
length,  disgusted  with  finding  nothing,  he  sold  it  for  a  trifle  to  his 
nephew,  who  proposed  to  plant  it  with  oranges.  In  digging  for 
this  purpose  he  found  a  headless  horseman  of  the  Roman  period, 
and  on  digging  further  he  came  upon  the  statue  of  Poseidon,  which 
graces  the  Athenian  Museum  to-day. 

The  Roman  horseman,  however,  still  stands  where  it  was,  half 
embedded  in  the  soil  near  the  water's  edge ;  but  Greeks  despise 
anything  of  so  recent  a  date,  and  the  carcasses  of  horse  and  rider, 
though  of  good  workmanship,  are  allowed  to  cumber  the  ground  as 
rubbish. 

This  little  flat  space  is  a  mass  of  ruins,  many  pieces  of  which 
have  served  to  build  a  cottage,  a  mill,  and  a  reservoir ;  into  the 
sea  project  the  massive  remains  of  a  wall  of  the  Roman  period,  and 
all  along  the  coast  are  remnants  of  the  past. 

On  our  return  up  the  hill  towards  Plaka  we  visited  the  cata- 
combs of  Melos.  The  whole  hillside  is  covered  with  pagan  tombs, 
but  the  vast  galleries  of  the  Christian  necropolis  cut  in  the  tufa 
rock  are  the  most  curious.  There  are  four  entrances  and  five 
galleries  with  annexes,  the  first  three  of  which  present  unmistak- 
able signs  of  Christianity  from  the  inscriptions ;  in  one  we  saw 
Constantine's  monogram,  but  in  the  other  two  galleries  there  is 
nothing  but  the  resemblance  to  the  others  to  tell  us  that  they,  too, 
contain  Christian  tombs.  Besides  these  galleries,  now  cleared  out, 
there  are  evidences  of  entrances  to  other  catacombs  still  closed  up. 

The  form  of  the  tombs  is  distinctly  borrowed  from  the  pagan 
idea,  having  curved  and  vaulted  roofs  ;  many  of  them  have  plaster 
on  still,  and  at  the  end  of  the  arcosolium  appears  the  funereal 
inscription,  some  of  the  letters  of  which  appear  to  have  been  only 
plainly  cut,  whilst  others  are  painted  red,  and  the  lines  have  been 
separated  from  one  another  by  stripes  of  red.  One  inscription  is 
in  a  red  cartouche,  and  has  red  and  green  bands  like  those  in 
Roman  arcosolia  ;  sometimes  an  arcosolium  is  decorated  with 
roughly  designed  flowers  and  the  monogram  X,  but  they  are  now 
very  difficult  to  trace.  In  the  arcosolia  are  niches  for  lamps  ;  there 
are  only  slight  traces  of  loculi^  two  side  by  side.  At  the  end  of 
one  gallery  are  two  arcosolia^  destined  each  for  "fe/X)  persons,  and 


MELOS.  85 

tombs  behind.  At  a  rough  calculation  there  must  have  been  about 
one  thousand  five  hundred  buried  in  the  part  at  present  open,  so 
probably,  as  Melos  never  rose  to  any  very  great  importance  during 
the  later  Roman  period,  these  tombs,  which  evidently  belonged  to 
the  richer  class,  were  excavated  during  a  considerable  term  of 
years,  though  throughout  the  architecture  is  the  same. 

These  tombs  are  looked  upon  with  extreme  awe  by  the  Meliotes 
of  to-day  as  the  habitations  of  kindly  disposed  spirits  ;  and  here  it 
is,  as  I  alluded  to  above,  that  the  superstitious  mothers  will  expose 
their  sickly  infants  to  recover  from  the  supposed  stroke  of  a  Nereid  ; 
and  down  in  the  valley  of  Klima  there  are  said  to  exist  what  they 
call  '  midday  ghosts,'  and  it  is  deemed  rash  to  approach  the  ruins 
there  at  midday  or  midnight,  especially  during  the  dog  days,  for 
fear  of  being  seized  by  them.  This  is  an  ancient  prejudice,  and 
the  idea  is  carried  still  further  :  a  man  must  stop  playing  his  Ijre 
or  his  pan-pipe  at  midday,  and  he  had  better  not  lie  down  to  rest 
at  that  hour  under  a  suspected  tree,  or  he  will  insult  the  nyroph 
thereof,  and  be  punished  with  madness. 


86  THE  CYC  LADES, 


CHAPTER  V. 

ANAPHI. 

This  is  the  extreme  south-eastern  point  of  the  Cyclades, 
the  island  of  the  rising  sun,  as  its  name  implies  ('Ai/a<^), 
so  called  from  its  mythical  association  with  the  sun  god 
Apollo  ^glites.  In  the  whole  of  the  Cycladic  and 
Sporadic  groups  there  exists  no  island  so  remote  in 
its  solitude  as  Anaphi.  Though  included  in  the  former 
group,  because  it  now  belongs  to  Greece,  Anaphi  has  no 
business  to  belong  to  the  Cyclades,  for  in  no  sense  of  the 
word  can  it  be  said  to  be  encircling  Delos.  It  is  a  mere 
speck  in  the  waves,  in  the  direction  of  Rhodes  or  Crete, 
where  no  one  ever  goes,  and  where  the  i,ooo  inhabitants 
of  the  one  village  thereon  are  as  isolated  as  if  they  dwelt 
in  an  archipelago  in  the  Pacific. 

We  left  Santorin  at  9.30  on  a  lovely  January  day  in 
a  tricandera^  with  every  prospect  of  easily  accomplishing 
our  sixteen  miles'  sail  in  a  few  hours.  It  was  a  day  which 
shows  the  point  of  the  Greek  proverb,  that  *  if  January" 
could,  he  would  be  a  summer  month.'  Apollo  blazed 
upon  us  as  we  sailed  sluggishly  out  of  the  port  and  along 
the  volcanic  coast  of  Santorin,  so  that  we  had  time  to 
admire  and  grow  weary  in  turns  of  each  strange  headland 
— one  black,  one  green,  one  red — fantastic  volcanic  rocks, 
and  we  longed  in  vain  for  a  breeze.  In  the  blue  distance 
the  peaks  of  Anaphi  looked  for  ever  the  same — the  usual 


ANA  PHI.  87 


Mount  Prophet  Elias,  the  rocky  Mount  of  Kalamiotissa, 
below  which  the  temple  of  the  sun  god  still  lies,  and 
then  we  thought  how  completely  the  cloak  of  Apollo  has 
fallen  on  Prophet  Elias  in  modern  days.  Every  highest 
-hill  in  every  island  is  as  of  old  dedicated  to  Elias  ;  it  is 
an  obvious  transition.  "^Xlos  (the  sun)  at  once  suggested  j 
Elias  to  the  easily  accommodating  divines  of  the  new  reli-  \  1/ 
gion,  and  to  all  intents  and  purposes  the  prophet  supplies 
the  place  of  the  sun  god  of  antiquity.  He  has  power 
over  rain ;  in  times  of  drought  people  assemble  in  crowds 
in  his  church  to  pray  for  rain  ;  and  in  this  he  has  the 
attribute  of  another  branch  of  the  sun  god,  ofi/Sptosy  or 
vETLos  Zsvs.  When  it  thunders  they  say  the  prophet  is 
driving  in  his  chariot  in  pursuit  of  demons.  A  curious 
MS.  in  a  convent  at  Lesbos  illustrates  both  these  ideas  ; 
it  is  in  the  shape  of  a  dialogue,  and  the  following  is  an 
extract : — 

Epipliany :  Is  it  true  that  the  prophet  Elias  is  in  the 
chariot  of  thunder  and  lightning,  and  pursues  the  dragon } 

Andreas :  Far  from  it ;  this  is  great  folly,  and  only  an 
idle  report,  which  men  have  set  up  out  of  their  own  igno- 
rance ;  as  also  is  the  story  that  Christ  made  sparrows  out 
of  clay  before  the  Jews,  and  when  He  threw  them  into 
the  air  they  flew  away,  and  that  He  turned  snow  into 
flour.  These  are  also  false  like  the  other,  and  such  as 
the  heretics  unreasonably  preach ;  for  the  prophet  has 
not  gone  up  to  heaven,  nor  does  he  sit  on  a  chariot ;  but 
he  has  power  to  ask  God  for  rain,  so  that  in  a  time  of 
drought  he  can  give  moisture  to  the  earth. 

In  classical  mythology,  it  will  be  remembered,  the 
^attitudes  of  the  sun  god  were  divided  amongst  many ; 
the  oneness  of  sun  worship  is  of  an  earlier  date. 

Pretty  allusions  to  the  Dawn  are  frequent  now  in 
popular  verse ;  it  is  the  Virgin  who  has  supplied  the 


88  THE  CYCLADES. 


place  of  Eos,  she  is  the  mother  of  the  Sun  ;  she  opens  the 
gates  of  the  east,  through  which  her  son  can  pass ;  and 
about  the  all-glorious  sun  a  Greek  peasant  cannot  say 
too  much.  He  is  the  pattern  of  perfect  beauty  ;  *  beau- 
tiful as  the  sun '  is  a  constant  expression  to  describe  the 
beauty  of  a  girl.  I  have  heard  an  island  mother  say, 
'  Perhaps  the  sun  will  carry  a  message  for  me  to  my 
child,'  when  she  was  speaking  of  her  daughter  in  service 
somewhere  on  the  mainland.  It  is  but  the  same  idea 
that  Sophocles  puts  into  the  mouth  of  the  dying  Ajax, 
who  appeals  to  the  heavenly  body  to  tell  his  fate  to  his 
old  father  and  his  sorrowing  spouse. 

The  belief  that  the  sun  is  in  danger  when  obscured 
by  an  eclipse  is  somewhat  exploded  now,  yet  there  are 
those  living  who  remember  when  the  people  used  to 
come  out  with  brass  kettles  to  drive  away  the  evil 
demons,  which  were  threatening  the  life-giving  sun, 
traces  of  which  custom  still  survive  in  songs. 

Meanwhile  the  sun  pursued  his  course  steadily,  and 
our  sailors  measured  the  light  constantly  from  the  sun 
to  the  horizon  with  their  fingers.  Each  finger's  breadth 
represents  a  quarter  of  an  hour's  daylight ;  an  inch  of 
daylight,  as  the  expression  goes  ;  but  the  sun  set  before 
we  were  clear  of  the  last  cape  of  Santorin,  where  we 
had  elected  to  pass  the  night  had  not  a  breeze  sprung  up 
after  sunset,  which  promised  to  help  us  on  our  course. 

At  length,  about  two  o'clock  in  the  night,  after  a  sail 
of  sixteen  hours,  we  landed  on  Anaphi.  Not,  alas !  near 
the  one  town,  but  on  the  north  side  of  the  island,  two 
hours  away.  Not  till  then  did  we  realise  the  benefit  of 
those  churches,  which  are  dotted  everywhere  over  the 
islands  for  benighted  wayfarers  like  ourselves.  Our  only 
chance  of  a  little  rest  lay  in  entering  one  of  them.  It  was, 
of  course,  only  twelve  feet  by  eight ;  it  had  a  mud  floor 


ANAPHL  89 


and  no  seats  ;  we  had  to  be  content  with  stones  for  pillows 
and  our  rugs  for  bedclothes,  but  it  was  a  warm  and  lovely 
■night,  so  we  were  content. 

Early  next  morning  we  arose,  and  despatched  our 
manservant,  who  was  a  native  of  this  island,  to  the  town 
to  get  us  mules,  and  we  were  left  to  puzzle  our  brains  as 
to  how  to  get  any  breakfast,  for  the  long  day  in  the  boat 
had  exhausted  our  provisions.  We  got  together  some 
brushwood  and  lighted  a  fire,  in  the  embers  of  which  we 
cooked  some  bacon,  which  we  ate  with  hard  bread  and 
washed  down  with  water  ;  but,  as  they  say  in  Greece, 
'hunger  has  no  eyes,  and  if  it  had  it  would  not  use  /^ 
them.' 

An  uninteresting  ride  of  two  hours  across  a  hilly, 
brown,  and  apparently  barren  country  brought  us  to  the 
Chora.  On  the  side  along  which  we  passed  we  had  no 
difficulty  in  deciding  that  Anaphi  was  barren  even  for 
one  of  the  Cyclades  ;  and  Tournefort's  naive  remark 
when  he  visited  it  in  1700  will  apply  still,  that  it  has  not 
wood  enough  to  cook  the  partridges  which  abound.  In 
red-legged  partridges  Anaphi  certainly  does  abound. 
Coveys  of  partridges  and  lots  of  wild  pigeons  we  stirred 
up  at  every  turn.  A  story  is  current  that  a  brace  of 
partridges  was  brought  over  from  Astypalaea  to  Anaphi, 
and  became  so  prolific  that  the  bird  has  become  a 
plague.     This  popular  story  coincides  curiously  with  an 


account  AtBaoasJ^  gives  us  of  the  quantities  of  par-  ^  \ 
tridges  in  Anaphi,  where  he  said  that  the  inhabitants 
were  in  danger  of  having  to  quit  the  island  from  their 
abundance.     It   is  just   possible   that   the    stories   are 
identical,  and  that  it  has  survived  for  centuries. 

There  are  no  serpents  in  Anaphi,  only  green  lizards. 
It  is  curious  in  almost  every  island  the  reptiles  are  dif- 
ferent.    In  Siphnos  they  have  very  poisonous  snakes ; 


,/ 


90  THE  CYC  LADES, 


in  Keos  they  have  scorpions ;  in  Antiparos  they  have 
only  little  adders  ;  whereas  on  the  adjoining  Paros  they 
have  very  huge  and  poisonous  snakes.  Anaphi  is  blessed 
in  this  respect,  if  not  in  trees  and  verdure. 

The  town,  as  usual,  crowns  a  conical  hill,  and  on  the 
vantage  ground  afforded  by  two  windmills  we  saw,  when 
fully  a  mile  away,  all  the  population  of  the  place  strain- 
ing their  eyes  to  get  a  glimpse  at  the  strange  foreigners 
who  had  come  to  visit  their  shores.  This  was  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  for  in  winter  time  the  Anaphiotes  must  be 
very  dull,  for  at  Santorin  they  had  taken  the  opportunity 
to  give  us  the  post  for  Anaphi,  a  small  packet  of  a  dozen 
letters,  nearly  all  of  which  were  from  the  Government  to 
the  demarch,  and  it  was  the  first  post  they  had  had  for 
two  months. 

*  Often  we  have  no  communication  with  the  outer 
world  for  three  months  in  winter  time,'  replied  the  de- 
march  in  answer  to  my  expressions  of  surprise ;  *  for 
Anaphi  has  no  harbour  whatsoever,  and  the  small  cleft 
where  the  fishermen  draw  up  their  boats  is  exposed  to 
the  full  fury  of  a  southern  gale.  Those  who  come  here 
are  often  obliged  to  stay  longer  than  they  expect,'  he 
concluded  with  a  hospitable  ring  in  his  voice.  We  smiled 
in  return,  but  felt  apprehensive  all  the  same,  for  we  did 
not  wish  our  stay  here  to  be  too  protracted. 

The  great  name  in  the  island  is  Chalaris.  The  de- 
march's  name  is  Chalaris,  and  to  him  we  were  introduced 
as  soon  as  we  had  taken  possession  of  an  empty  house 
which  was  placed  at  our  disposal  during  our  stay  by 
the  brother  of  our  servant.  Shortly  afterwards  another 
Chalaris  was  brought  in,  a  deaf,  shrivelled-up  old  man  of 
ninety,  who  had  assisted  Ross  to  dig  in  1836,  and  was 
prepared  to  tell  us  of  all  the  antiquities  in  the  place.  No 
sooner  was  he  deposited  on  the  sofa  than  he  asked,  *  What 


ANA  PHI,  91 


men  are  these  ? '  *  English/  was  the  reply  ("AYYXot).  *  Wild 
men  {cuypoC)  ? '  said  he  with  surprise.  *  No,  I  will  never 
believe  that  they  are  wild  men  ;'  whereat  there  was  a  great 
laugh  at  our  expense,  and  we  soon  became  very  friendly. 
We  liked  the  Anaphiotes  extremely ;  they  were  so  cheery 
and  simple,  and,  furthermore,  a  strikingly  handsome  set 
of  people.  There  was  the  old  grandmother  dressed  in 
black,  her  head  almost  buried  in  a  black  handkerchief, 
who  sat  neglected,  and  like  a  bundle  of  rugs,  in  a  corner  ; 
then  there  was  a  portly  lady,  wife  to  our  host,  who  was 
absent,  and  her  beautiful  daughter  Eutimia,  whose  dark 
hair,  pencilled  eyebrows,  classic  profile,  and  rich  com- 
plexion made  her  a  picture  even  in  her  working  clothes  ; 
but  when  that  evening,  at  our  request,  she  donned  one  of 
the  old  Anaphiote  costumes  her  appearance  was  mag- 
nificent :  it  consisted  of  a  violet  silk  brocade  skirt,  green 
velvet  bodice,  gold  embroidered  stomacher,  and  a  short 
pink  satin  jacket,  edged  round  the  cuffs  and  down  the 
front  with  pink  fur.  The  headdress  somewhat  resembled 
the  pina  of  Siphnos,  but  is  here  called  *  the  circle ' 
(o  Kv/cXos) :  it  consists  of  a  tall  wedge  of  cotton  in- 
side, over  which  Oriental  handkerchiefs  are  gracefully 
arranged,  so  that  the  ends  hang  down  over  the  shoulders. 
During  the  last  few  years  this  style  of  dress  has  been 
entirely  abandoned  ;  those  who  wore  it  were  laughed 
at ;  and  Eutimia  that  evening  came  in  for  a  good  share 
of  ridicule,  but  I  think  a  consciousness  of  our  approval 
more  than  made  up  for  this. 

As  it  is  at  present,  the  dress  of  the  women  of  Anaphi 
is  more  than  usually  sombre.  After  the  death  of  a  near 
relative  they  wear  black  for  an  immense  time :  girls 
after  the  loss  of  a  parent  do  not  go  out  of  mourning  till 
they  are  married ;  widows  and  elderly  people  never  dream 
of  removing  their  black.     Knitting  seems  to  be  their 


92  THE  CYCLADES. 


great  industry;  they  sit  at  their  doors  knitting  and 
gossiping  hard,  with  their  thread  fastened  round  a  button 
sewn  to  their  dress  at  the  shoulder  for  this  purpose. 

After  a  rest  and  a  repast,  at  which  partridges  formed 
a  prominent  feature,  we  issued  forth,  accompanied  by 
the  two  Chalaris,  to  take  stock  of  Anaphi.  Chalaris  the 
elder  insisted  on  our  first  visiting  his  house,  which  con- 
sists of  one  room,  and  is  furnished  with  a  bed,  sofa, 
chair,  table,  and  endless  archaeological  trophies  scattered 
around.  With  pride  he  pointed  out  the  various  objects 
he  had  collected — the  torso  of  a  statue  let  in  over  his 
door,  an  inscription  let  into  his  well  before  the  house — 
and  finally  he  pointed  to  a  large  slab  of  polished  marble 
leaning  ag^iinst  the  wall. 

*  That  is  to  be  my  tombstone,'  said  the  old  man  with 
pride.  '  I  have  just  got  it,  and  I  am  going  to  begin  at 
once  to  carve  the  inscription  on  it.' 

'  He  is  very  proud  of  himself,'  put  in  his  kinsman, 
the  demarch,  in  a  low  voic^.  *  He  is  determined  not  to 
be  buried  in  a  cemetery  amongst  us,  with  just  a  stick  to 
mark  the  place ;  he  has  chosen  his  own  tomb,  and,  depend 
upon  it,  he  will  carve  something  extravagantly  laudatory 
on  that  slab.' 

*  I  am  not  dead  yet,'  put  in  the  old  man  rather  testily, 
for  he  did  not  like  his  kinsman's  cynical  face  and  sub- 
dued voice ;  *  and,  if  you  like,  I  will  take  you  to  see  the 
ruins  to-morrow,'  he  said,  turning  towards  us  ;  but  know- 
ing this  to  be  impossible,  for  the  old  man  was  already 
worn  out  by  the  excitement  of  our  company,  we  thanked 
him  and  bade  him  adieu,  and  continued  our  walk  with 
the  demarch. 

*  Anaphi  is  one  of  the  healthiest  of  the  Cyclades,' 
remarked  our  friend  with  pride  ;  *  it  is  by  no  means  rare 
for  people  to  reach  a  great  age,  and  we  have  no  doctor 
in  the  place.' 


ANAPHL  93 


*  Then  what  do  you  do  when  ill  ?  *  I  enquired. 

'  Oh !  we  understand  a  little  about  medicines  our- 
selves. I  keep  a  few  drugs,  which  I  dispense  at  the 
demarcheion ;  but  our  remedies  are  chiefly  the  herbs 
which  grow  on  our  mountains.' 

Certainly  the  lot  of  the  thousand  Anaphiotes  is  an 
enviable  one.  No  steamer,  rarely  any  letters,  splendid 
air,  no  doctors.  No  wonder  they  live  to  ninety  1  The 
town,  too,  is  exceptionally  clean  for  an  island  one ;  the 
houses  have  all  vaulted  roofs,  like  those  of  Santorin,  and 
consist  for  the  most'  part  of  only  one  long  narrow  room, 
a  door  into  the  street,  a  window  on  each  side  of  the 
door,  and  one  above.  They. are  whitewashed  within 
and  without,  and  each  house  has  its  round  vaulted  stove, 
about  five  yards  from  the  house,  where  all  the  things  that 
cannot  be  cooked  are  taken  on  a  small  brazier.  The 
chief  cooking  utensil  of  an  Anaphiote  cottage  is  a  long 
pole,  at  the  end  of  which  is  attached  an  oval  board,  on 
which  they  place  anything  they  wish  to  cook,  to  shove 
it  into  the  oven  :  this  pole  is  called  Lazarus,  and  the 
answer  to  a  quaint  Anaphiote  riddle,  *  Long,  long  as 
Lazarus  with  a  cake  on  his  head,'  is  this  pole.  For  a 
long  time  the  reason  for  this  simile  baffled  me,  but  at 
last  I  discovered  that  the  popular  idea  of  Lazarus  when 
he  was  raised  from  the  dead  is  that  he  was  an  abnor- 
mally tall,  thin  man  with  a  round,  flat  head. 

Anaphi  is  celebrated  for  good  bread,  and  when  they 
have  a  baking  they  do  it  with  a  vengeance,  for  they 
bake  lOO  to  150  okes  for  one  family  at  a  time,  and 
what  they  cannot  eat  fresh  they  dry,  and  call  biscuit, 
which  it  is  necessary  to  soak  in  water  or  coffee  before 
eating.  A  good  deal  of  this  hard  bread  they  send  out 
of  the  island. 

Everything  is  done  at  home  at  Anaphi ;  their  wind- 


94  THE  CYCLADES. 


mills  grind  their  com,  their  fields  produce  a  sufficiency 
of  grain,  their  looms  make  all  the  materials  for  their 
clothes,  their  hill  slopes  produce  excellent  grapes.  *  If 
the  rest  of  the  world  was  to  disappear,'  said  the  demarch, 
*  and  Anaphi  alone  be  left,  the  only  thing  we  should 
miss  would  be  tobacco  ; '  and  relative  to  the  subject  of 
tobacco  I  asked  him  if  he  approved  of  the  new  tax 
the  Greek  Government  had  recently  put  on  cigarette 
papers. 

*  Bah  ! '  exclaimed  he  with  a  wink,  *  the  tax  has  not 
yet  reached  Anaphi ; '  and  the  chief  functionary  of  the 
law  chuckled  to  himself  as  he  rolled  a  cigarette  in 
smuggled  paper.  *  I  suppose,'  continued  I  to  change  the 
subject,  *  that  the  war  of  independence  and  the  liberties 
of  Greece  did  not  affect  you  much  ?  * 

*  We  are  Greeks,'  he  said  indignantly,  *  and  we  sent 
our  two  caiques  full  of  men  to  take  part  in  the  war.* 

On  the  top  of  the  conical  hill  is  a  mediaeval  citadel. 
William  Crispi,  brother  of  James  XII.,  Duke  of  Naxos, 
got  Anaphi  as  an  appanage,  and  here  he  built  the  castle 
which  we  now  saw.  Eventually  his  elder  brother  died, 
and  he  in  his  turn  became  duke  of  Naxos,  and  left  his 
daughter  Florence  as  lady  of  Anaphi.  After  her  death 
the  Turks  seized  it,  and  under  the  Turks  the  Anaphiotes 
had  a  very  easy  time  of  it.  In  1700  they  paid  a  fine 
of  500  crowns  for  all  their  rights,  and  after  that  no 
Turk  ever  came  near  them,  for  their  annual  tribute  was 
collected  by  a  native  epitropos,  who  once  a  year  betook 
himself  to  Cape  Drio,  on  Paros,  when  he  handed  it  over 
to  the  Kapitan  Pasha  ;  if  this  tribute  was  paid  regularly 
the  islanders  had  no  cause  to  fear  a  visit  from  the 
Turks. 

Catherine  II.  of  Russia  was  the  first  to  break  the 
peace  of  these  outlying  islands  in  1770  by  inciting  them 


ANAPHL  95 


to  rebel.  An  old  tradition  existing  in  Greece,  that  the 
Turks  would  be  destroyed  by  a  fair  race,  favoured  her 
scheme,  and,  of  course,  the  bond  of  religion  was  a  great 
one,  and  for  nearly  five  years,  under  Prince  Orloff,  the 
Russians  ruled  in  the  Cyclades. 

Next  morning,  accompanied  by  Demarch  Chalaris, 
we  set  off  on  mules  to  visit  the  old  Hellenic  town  of 
Anaphi.  It  was  a  threatening  morning,  and  showery  at 
first,  and  Chalaris  the  younger  did  not  seem  at  all  inclined 
to  start ;  however  we  assured  him  that  we  often  went  v^ 
out  in  the  rain  in  England,  so  he  laughed  at  us,  and 
referred  to  his  kinsman's  mistake  about  wild  men, 
and  finally  consented  to  be  one  for  once  in  his  life.  On 
our  way  a  glorious  rainbow  appeared  before  us,  and  the 
demarch  told  us  how  the  peasants  of  Anaphi  know  how 
to  foretell  the  crops  by  the  colours  of  the  rainbow.  If 
red  prevails  in  it  the  crop  of  grapes  will  be  abundant ;  if 
green,  that  of  the  olive  ;  if  yellow,  that  of  corn.  *  A  rain- 
bow in  the  morning,*  he  added,  *  denotes  luck  ;  in  the 
evening,  woe  ; '  so  we  felt  to-day  that  the  omen  was  in 
our  favour. 

*  The  nun's  girdle '  as  they  call  the  rainbow  in  these  \/ 
parts,  strongly  recalls  the  ancient  myth  about  the  virgin 
goddess  Iris,  and  the  idea  that  God  sends  it  to  show 
where  a  treasure  is  buried  reminds  one  of  the  belief  that 
Iris  was  Jove's  messenger  from  heaven  to  earth. 

It  hailed  pretty  sharply  now  and  again,  or,  as  they 
will  persist  in  saying,  *  it  snowed.'  Everything,  including 
even  cold  rain,  is  called  snow  in  these  islands.  *  White 
as  an  egg  it  was,  round  as  a  peppercorn,  but  by  St. 
George  it  was  neither  of  them,'  is  an  Anaphiote  riddle, 
to  which  the  answer  is,  not  hail,  but  snow. 

The  old  town  of  Anaphi  had  a  very  commanding 
position,  and  from  the  remains  we  saw  it  appears  to 


96  THE  CYCLADES. 


have  once  been  a  very  strong  rich  city,  amongst  the 
finest  in  the  Cyclades.  On  the  summit  of  the  ancient 
acropolis  are  the  remains  of  a  temple.  Some  portions  of 
the  ulla  are  still  to  be  seen.  From  an  inscription  which 
was  found  on  a  votive  statue  we  learn  that  there  was 
once  here  another  temple  to  Pythian  Apollo  combined 
with  Artemis  Soteira.  All  around  are  colossal  walls, 
the  foundations  of  houses,  cisterns,  and  quantities  of 
headless  statues.  On  the  slope  of  the  hill  between  the 
town  and  the  harbour  was  the  necropolis  of  ancient 
Anaphi,  which  has  contributed  rich  *  finds '  to  excavators 
— gold  earrings,  bracelets,  precious  stones,  and  things 
betokening  a  rich  community.  Close  to  a  little  church 
we  came  across  two  lovely  marble  sarcophagi  ;  on  one 
of  these  was  a  beautifully  executed  representation  of 
children  bringing  sacrifices  to  Bacchus,  one  of  whom 
is  in  a  well-portrayed  state  of  intoxication,  as  he  places 
something  on  the  altar ;  on  the  other  side  are  Bellerophon 
and  Pegasus ;  and  on  the  two  narrow  sides  Sphinxes. 
The  other  sarcophagus,  which  appears  to  have  been 
even  richer  in  execution,  is  smashed  up  and  built  into 
walls. 

An  old  woman  who  was  looking  after  her  crops 
here  gave  us  a  fig,  curiously  moulded  in  a  sort  of  clay, 
which  she  had  found  in  one  of  these  tombs ;  and  we  saw 
two  round  balls,  of  the  same  material,  with  inscriptions 
on  them,  which  had  likewise  been  found  in  tombs. 

We  then  made  our  way  down  to  the  shore,  where 
was  the  ancient  port,  and  where  we  saw  traces  of  houses, 
a  mole,  and  steps  going  down  into  the  sea.  This  spot  still 
bears  an  old  name  {KaTakvfia)y  called  so  probably  from 
the  fact  of  its  containing  inns  or  halting  places  for  tra- 
vellers :  it  is  an  exceedingly  rare  classical  word,  and  en- 
tirely unknown  in  modern  Greek.     Here,  too,  is  a  lime- 


ANAPHL  97 


kiln,  the  invariable  destroyer  of  marble  remains.  Let  us 
hope  that  this  barbarous  custom  of  converting  marble 
friezes  and  statues  into  lime  will  soon  be  heard  of  no  more 
in  Greece. 

Down  by  the  shore,  with  a  deliciously  warm  sun  to 
dry  the  effects  of  our  early  morning  wetting,  we  sat 
down  to  our  midday  repast.  Demarch  Chalaris  waxed 
gay  and  talkative  as  he  quaffed  the  good  wine  of  his 
island ;  and  he  pressed  us  to  eat  an  abominable  black 
and  green  sausage  of  bacon  and  garlic,  and  seemed  dis- 
appointed at  our  refusal ;  so  he  pulled  a  long  face  by 
way  of  revenge  at  some  chocolate  we  gave  him,  called  it 
horrid  stuff,  and  said  he  would  keep  it  till  he  got  home 
to  make  coffee  of,  as  it  was  raw. 

On  our  way  home  we  passed  through  ^ome  of  the 
demarches  own  fields,  where  they  were  busy  ploughing. 
A  plough  in  these  parts  is  an  exceedingly  primitive- 
article,  somewhat  similar  to  those  which  Homer  would 
have  seen  if  he  had  not  been  blind.  The  chief  ingredient 
in  a  plough,  and  a  rarity  in  Anaphi,  is  a  tree  with  a  trunk 
and  two  branches  ;  one  branch  serves  as  a  tail  and  the 
other  has  a  bit  of  iron  fixed  to  it,  and  penetrates  the 
ground;  the  trunk  is  the  pole.  Sometimes  there  are 
slight  improvements  on  this,  but  not  often.  The  beauty 
of  this  plough  is  that  it  is  so  light  that  the  farmer  can 
carry  it  over  his  shoulders  as  he  drives  his  bullocks  before 
him  ;  they  never  care  about  making  deep  furrows,  and 
they  never  make  straight  ones.  Often  the  farmer  begins 
by  ploughing  out  a  circle  for  his  morning's  work ;  this  he 
goes  round  and  round  and  across  in  a  careless  manner 
until  his  task  is  over. 

We  kept  along  by  the  shore  on  our  way  home,  and 
the  demarch  told  us  much  about  the  great  quantity  of 
sea  demons  ( OoKaaaafxd'x^LaL)  that  they  have  at  Anaphi. 

H 


98  THE  CYCLADES, 


From  his  description  we  gathered  that  they  were  a  species 
of  Nereid  of  the  sea  who  are  for  ever  fighting  with  the 
Nereids  of  the  land.  One  day  a  shipowner  who  put 
into  Anaphi  with  a  cargo  of  cotton  went  up  to  the  town 
to  see  about  his  affairs,  and  in  returning  to  the  port  he 
there  encountered  a  demon,  ten  times  bigger  than  him- 
self, which  chased  him  down  the  hill  and  then  disappeared 
in  the  waves.  Such  stories  remind  one  of  the  adventures 
of  Ulysses.  Another  species  of  hobgoblin  occurs  in 
Anaphi,  bearing  the  ancient  name  and  attributes  :  they 
are  the  Lamiae,  evil-working  women  who  live  in  desert 
places,  ill-formed  like  their  ancestors,  daughters  of  Belus 
and  Sibyl.  Utterly  unfit  are  they  for  household  duties, 
for  they  cannot  sweep  ;  so  an  untidy  woman  to-day  is 
said  to  have  made  the  sweepings  of  a  Lamia  {rrjs  KafiUs 
ra  a-apcofiaTo) ;  they  cannot  bake — a  great  offence,  in- 
deed, in  Anaphi — for  they  put  bread  into  the  oven  before 
heating  it ;  they  have  dogs  and  mules,  but  give  bones 
to  their  mules  and  straw  to  their  dogs.  They  are  very 
gluttonous,  so  that  in  Byzantine  and  modern  Greek  the 
verb  \afiid)VG)  is  used  to  express  over-eating.  They  have 
a  special  predilection  for  baby's  flesh,  and  a  Greek 
mother  of  to-day  will  frighten  her  child  by  saying  that 
a  Lamia  will  come  if  it  is  naughty,  just  as  was  said  to 
naughty  children  in  ancient  days  ;  for  the  legend  used 
to  run  that  Zeus  loved  Lamia  too  well,  untidy  though 
she  was,  and  Hera  out  of  jealousy  killed  her  children  ; 
whereat  Lamia  was  so  grieved  that  she  took  to  eating 
the  children  of  others. 

Some  Lamiae  are  like  Sirens,  and  by  taking  the  form 
of  lovely  nymphs  beguile  men  to  their  destruction  ;  for 
example,  an  ecclesiastical  legend,  savouring  strongly  of 
Boccaccio,  tells  us  how  a  Lamia  charmed  a  monk  as  he 
sat  by  the  side  of  a  lake  one  evening.     Dawn  came,  and 


ANAPHL  99 


the  monk  was  seen  no  more ;  but  some  children  swore  to 
having  seen  his  hoary  beard  floating  in  the  waters  of  the 
lake. 

That  evening  after  our  dinner   Eutimia   and   her 

mother  determined  that  we  should  see  all  that  was  best 

of  Anaphiote   society,   and   invited    their  friends   and 

,   acquaintances  to  a  ball :  this  was  very  pleasing  to  us,  as 

now  we  knew  we  should  see  the  manners  and  customs 

of  their  private  life  to  perfection.     Dancing  is  a  passion 

amongst  them,  and  one  can  easily  imagine  their  love  for 

it  when  one  thinks  how  shut  off*  they  are  from  all  the 

pleasures  of  the  outer  world.     As  for  the  syrtas^  they 

dance  it  admirably  and  in  a  most  pathetic  manner :  the 

leader  bends  on  his  knee  in  prayer  to  his  adored  one, 

he  stretches  out  his  hands  to  heaven  to  supplicate  the 

intervention  of  divine  power  on  his  behalf.     Dancing,  in 

short,  as  in  ancient  times,  is  considered  as  a  means  by 

which  to  express  feeling  by  the  evolution  of  hands  and 

legs.   The  social  dance,  as  we  know  it  in  Western  Europe, 

is  unknown. 

They  have  several  local  dances  in  Anaphi ;  the 
o-iJo-ra,  danced  only  by  men,  h  curious  :  they  stand,  as  in 
the  syrtoSj  in  a  semicircle,  with  their  hands  on  each 
other's  shoulders,  and  then  they  begin  to  move  slowly 
backwards  and  forwards,  quickening  their  steps  as  they  go, 
until  they  end  in  an  exceedingly  rapid  motion.  Demarch 
Chalaris  joined  in  this,  with  the  result  that,  being  no  longer 
young,  he  got  much  exhausted,  and  excused  himself  for 
the  rest  of  the  evening  by  saying  that  he  had  too  young 
a  heart  in  too  old  a  body. 

Another  pretty  dance  is  the  moloritis ;  Eutimia  and 
another  girl  danced  it  with  two  men  :  first  they  danced 
hand  in  hand,  like  the  lady's  chain  in  a  quadrille, 
then    they  danced   separately,   the  women,  of   course, 

h'2'  ;.. 


loo  THE  CYCLADES. 

demurely,  whilst  the  men  performed  acrobatic  feats,  as 
in  the  syrtos ;  and  they  sang  little  ballads  {iiaJbi^viiba)  as 
they  danced. 

After  a  while  a  rough,  coarse-looking  shepherd  came 
in,  and  his  advent  was  greeted  with  great  joy,  for  he  was 
reckoned  the  best  singer  in  Anaphi.  Poor  man  I  he  was 
very  shy,  and  they  had  to  ply  him  with  constant 
bumpers,  for  *  Andronico  never  can  sing  till  he  is  drunk,' 
they  said,  quite  as  a  matter  of  course.  At  last  Andronico 
gathered  himself  together  for  a  song,  and  a  boy  played 
a  goatskin  sabouna — that  wretched  Grecian  substitute  for 
the  bagpipe — by  way  of  accompaniment  When  tho- 
roughly prepared  to  begin  Andronico  shut  his  eyes  with 
determination  and  threw  back  his  head,  shaking  as  he 
did  so  his  long,  shaggy,  unkempt  locks  and  his  whole 
body.  Then  he  opened  his  mouth  wide,  and  thereout 
proceeded  the  most  melancholy,  deep-noted,  timeless 
utterances  that  ever  could  be  called  a  song. 

The  words  of  this  song  Eutimia  kindly  copied  for 
me  next  morning,  and  as  they  struck  me  as  a  production 

of  a  curious  nature  I  will  append  a  literal  translation  : — 

« 

Your  figure  is  a  lemon  tree, 
Its  branches  are  your  hair ; 
Joy  to  the  youth  who  climbs 
To  pluck  the  fruit  so  fair. 

Black  garments,  such  as  now  you  wear, 
Myself  I  will  cast  off, 
That  I  may  clothe  you  all  in  gold, 
And  take  you  as  my  love. 

Ah  me  !    Ah  me  1 
Now  withered  is  that  lemon  tree, 
And  I  am  full  of  woe. 
Come  let  us  walk,  and  let  us  grieve 
•  Together  as  we  go. 


*  • 


ANAPHL  loi 


And  I  will  tell,  and  you  will  talk, 

Will  tell,  will  talk  together 
Anent  the  woes  that  blight  our  hearts, 

That  they  may  wither,  wither  ! 

Andronico's  song  was  covered  with  applause,  and 
more  wine  was  administered,  which  resulted  in  his  con- 
senting to  dance  in  a  musical  syrtos^  of  which  he  was 
to  take  the  lead.  First,  he  cast  off  his  shoes,  by  way 
of  preparation  ;  such  shoes  as  peasants  in  Anaphi  wear, 
being  made  of  thick  pig's  skin,  with  the  bristles  left  on  : 
they  are  excellent  for  climbing  rocks  and  keeping  out 
the  wet,  but  not  for  dancing :  and  now  he  sang  more 
wildly  than  before  and  danced  more  vigorously  than 
anyone  else.  The  verses  of  the  song  he  sang  were 
answered  by  the  young  man  who  danced  at  the  other 
end  of  the  wavy  line.  But  as  the  dance  went  on 
Andronico  forgot  to  sing  ;  he  got  wilder  and  wilder 
in  his  evolutions,  until  at  length  his  movements  were 
scarcely  creditable,  and  he  was  conducted  home. 

*  Andronico,'  said  Eutimia  smiling,  'never  can  do 
anything  till  he  is  drunk.* 

The  following  day  was  devoted  to  a  visit  to  the 
monastery  of  Kalamiotissa,  built  out  of  what  is  left  of 
the  old  temple  of  Apollo  -^glites.  The  demarch  accom- 
panied us  as  before,  but  this  time  we  went  by  boat,  for 
the  distance  on  muleback  would  be  weary.  One  of  our 
men  took  some  dynamite  with  him,  and  though  the 
representative  of  the  law  in  Anaphi  was  with  us  he 
winked  at  the  boatmen  fishing  in  this  forbidden  manner, 
and  I  thought  again  of  the  cigarette  papers. 

The  legend  in  olden  times  ran  that  Apollo  raised  up 
an  island  out  of  the  sea  to  succour  the  heroes  on  their 
return  from  Colchis  in  search  of  the  golden  fleece  ;  and 
this  island  was  Anaphi.     In  return  for  this  benefit  a 


I02  THE  CYCLADES, 

gorgeous  temple  was  built  to  Apollo  ^glites  on  a 
narrow  tongue  of  land  which  unites  the  mainland  of 
Anaphi  to  a  gigantic  mountain  rock  which  stands  boldly 
out  into  the  sea,  now  called  Mount  Kalamos.  All  the  way 
from  the  old  town  to  the  temple,  some  two  miles  distant, 
can  be  seen  traces  of  the  old  sacred  way,  the  pavement 
of  which  is  left  in  parts,  and  is  worn  with  chariot  wheels  ; 
and  on  either  side  of  the  way  are  frequent  tombs,  as  on 
the  road  between  Athens  and  Eleusis. 

Three  monks  only  now  live  at  the  monastery  ol 
Kalamiotissa,  the  only  one  in  Anaphi ;  and  the  day 
before  our  visit  the  superior  had  died,  and  they  had  had 
splendid  lamentations  over  his  body,  at  which  we  re- 
gretted not  to  have  been  present.  The  monastery  now 
belongs  to  one  in  Santorin,  and  is  built  on  the  gigantic 
foundation  walls  which  supported  the  temple  of  Apollo, 
one  stone  of  which  I  measured,  and  found  it  to  be  two 
yards  twenty-eight  inches  long  by  two  and  a  half  feet 
high  :  these  stones  are  of  a  coarse  sort  of  marble  which 
is  found  close  by. 

The  pronaos  of  the  temple  is  standing  as  it  was, 
and  is  now  used  by  the  monks  as  a  store,  where  they 
keep  their  grain  and  instruments  of  husbandry ;  the 
peribolos  of  the  temple  is  worked  into  the  present 
church  and  other  cloister  buildings  ;  and  the  cella  is  the 
present  refectory.  In  every  direction  are  to  be  seen  in- 
scriptions let  into  the  walls.  There  are  two  platforms, 
which  apparently  seem  to  have  been  used  for  buildings, 
and  all  round  are  traces  of  foundations ;  and  it  would 
appear  from  the  inscriptions  that  this  ground  was  once 
covered  with  temples,  the  principal  one  being  dedicated 
to  Apollo  iEglites,  another  to  Aphrodite,  another  to 
iEsculapius,  &c. 

Before  returning  to  our  boat  we  were  taken  to  see 


ANAPHL  103 


an  inscription  in  a  ruined  house  which  gave  a  catalogue 
of  the  consuls  to  the  deme  of  Anaphi  in  letters  of  Attic 
type.  There  are  enumerated  on  this  stone  seven  consuls 
from  different  parts  of  Greece  resident  at  Anaphi — one 
from  Thessaly,  others  from  Mykonos,  Cnidos,  Paros, 
Chios,  Lacedaemon,  and  Siphnos — which  fact  points  to  the 
importance  of  Anaphi  at  that  period. 

The  monks  of  Kalamiotissa  received  us  well,  and 
offered  us  the  best  of  their  cellar  and  larder  ;  but  they 
were  depressed,  poor  men,  at  the  recent  loss  of  their 
superior ;  so  we  burdened  them  with  as  little  of  our 
company  as  possible,  and  returned  to  the  town  as  soon 
as  our  investigations  were  concluded. 

We  had  intended  to  spend  a  few  more  days  at 
Anaphi  ;  our  quarters  were  comfortable,  our  friends 
genial  and  quaint ;  but  on  the  following  morning  there 
was  a  breeze,  which  promised  to  carry  us  quickly  back 
to  ^antorin  ;  so,  deeming  it  prudent  to  secure  a  passage 
whilst  we  could,  we  bid  a  reluctant  farewell  to  the 
Anaphiotes.  Eutimia  and  several  others  accompanied 
us  to  our  boat,  and  in  four  hours  we  were  once  more 
under  lee  of  Thera. 


104  THE  CYCLADES. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

SANTORIN   (THERA). 

I.   The  Volcano. 

Before  landing  on  Santorin  and  mixing  ourselves  with 
its  people,  we  must  consider  for  a  brief  space  the  parti- 
cular feature  of  the  island,  namely,  the  volcano.^  The 
HepkcBstuSy  as  they  call  it,  has  made  of  Santorin  one  of 
the  most  terrible  spots  in  the  world,  and  has  had  a 
powerful  influence  on  the  inhabitants. 

Taken  from  a  general  point  of  view  this  volcanic  cluster 
is  round,  and  in  ancient  times  was  called  XTpoyyvXrj 
(round).  The  island  of  Santorin  proper  is  on  the  outer 
circle,  eighteen  miles  from  point  to  point,  and  twelve  on 
the  inner  circle,  and  it  is  somewhat  like  a  horseshoe ; 
the  remainder  of  the  circle  is  made  up  by  two  islands, 
Therasia  and  Aspronisi,  and  three  channels,  by  which 
the  central  basin  or  harbour  is  entered.  All  round  this 
central  basin,  which  is  the  cone  of  the  volcano,  the  island 
presents  a  frontage  of  precipitous  volcanic  cliffs,  from  500 
to  1,000  feet  in  height,  all  in  strata  of  twisted  and  con- 
torted volcanic  lava,  red,  green,  and  black,  giving  the 
whole  place  a  hideous  yet  fascinating  appearance. 

*  Excellent  authorities  for  the  volcanic  eruptions  of  Santorin  are  written 
by  Piques,  Fouque,  and  Dekigalla,  who  were  present  at  the  last  one  in 
i860. 


SANTO RIN  {THEE A),  105 

In  the  centre  of  this  large  circle,  which  is  from  east 
to  west  four  miles,  and  from  north  to  south  six  miles  in 
diameter,  lie  the  active  centres  of  the  volcano,  a  cluster  of 
three  hideous  islands,  steaming  with  smoke  and  streaked 
with  sulphur,  which  have  appeared  at  various  dates  out 
of  the  bowels  of  this  circle.  They  are  called  respectively 
Old,  Little,  and  New  Burnt  Island  {iraXaihy  fitKpoLy  vah 
KafifiJvr)),  The  depth  of  the  water  in  this  central  basin 
is  immense ;  the  cliffs  go  down  straight  into  it,  so  that 
there  is  no  possible  anchorage,  and  vessels  have  to  be 
tethered,  so  to  speak,  to  the  shore.  From  the  summit  of 
these  cliffs  the  land  gently  slopes  down  to  the  sea-level 
on  the  outer  side ;  the  widest  part  of  the  island  is  scarcely 
three  miles,  the  narrowest  considerably  under  a  mile — at 
each  end  of  the  horseshoe  of  Santorin  are  the  cliffs  of 
Akroteri  and  Epanomerict. 

There  is  only  another  feature  which  has  to  be  con- 
sidered at  the  south-east  corner  of  the  island  of  Santorin. 
There  rises  a  mountain.  Mesa  Bouni  by  name,  about 
i,SCX)  feet  above  the  sea.  This  mountain  and  its  spurs 
are  not  of  the  volcanic  formation  of  the  rest  of  the  island, 
but  consist  of  a  rock  formation  common  to  most  of  the 
Cyclades.  It  is  evident  that  this  Mesa  Boun6  was  an 
island,  around  which  the  crater  has  shed  its  shower  of 
pumice.  Moreover,  in  the  midst  of  the  sloping  plain 
rises  up  a  single  rock,  100  feet  high,  called  the  Mono- 
lithos  :  this  is  of  the  same  formation  as  Mesa  Boun6,  and 
presumably  was  once  a  rock  in  the  sea. 

In  this  otherwise  flat  surface  of  Santorin  occur  deep 
chasms,  formed  by  torrents,  as  their  local  name  of 
*  rivers '  (Trorafio])  testifies.  In  these  are  villages  curiously 
hidden,  which  we  shall  presently  visit.  The  soil  is  very 
light  and  thin,  consisting  chiefly  of  crumbled  pumice  : 
it  seems  favourable  for  the  growth  of  nothing  save  the 


io6  THE  CYCLADES, 


grape  :  in  fact,  the  slopes  of  Santorin  form  one  vast  vine- 
yard. The  roads  are  horribly  disagreeable  to  walk  on, 
being  like  the  sand  on  the  shore  which  the  tide  does  not 
regularly  reach. 

Concerning  the  earliest  eruptions  of  this  volcano  we 
have  no  data  to  go  upon.  The  island  has  at  various  times 
and  seasons  sprung  from  the  submerged  volcano,  and 
has  been  formed  by  multiplied  eruptions.  Herodotus 
IS  the  earliest  author  who  mentions  it,  and  he  tells  us 
that  in  mythical  times  it  had  seven  towns  or  villages, 
and  that  the  earliest  inhabitants  were  Phoenicians  ;  and 
then  came  Membliaros,  who  colonised  the  island.  In 
fact,  Herodotus  professes  to  give  us  the  earliest  traditions 
of  the  place,  but  never  alludes  to  a  vast  eruption  which 
covered  the  whole  of  the  island  with  thirty  feet  of  pumice 
and  buried  whole  villages  as  completely  as  Vesuvius  buried 
Herculaneum  and  Pompeii.  A  few  years  ago  workmen 
employed  in  the  quarry  of  pumice  stone  to  the  south  of 
Therasia  came  across  one  of  these  buried  villages,^  and  two 
years  ago,  near  the  promontory  of  Akroteri,  another  vil- 
lage was  discovered,  which  seems  to  be  more  recent  than 
that  on  Therasia,  and  not  to  have  been  buried  so  deep ; 
also  traces  of  iron  implements  were  found.  All  monu- 
ments of  an  historical  Greek  period  are  above  this  layer 
of  pumice,  and  from  this  we  argue  that  before  the  island 
received  its  present  level  there  must  have  been  frequent 
and  terrible  eruptions,  burying  from  time  to  time  the 
whole  place  in  pumice  ;  and  all  this  must  have  occurred 
before  the  colonisation  of  Membliaros,  for  from  this 
date  onwards  we  have  a  consecutive  account  of  the  in- 
habitants, and  no  mention  of  any  eruption  till  the  first 
historical  one,  which  occurred  somewhere  about  198  B.C., 
and  which  caused  Old  Burnt  Island  to  come  forth  out  of 
the  sea,  in  the  centre  of  the  circular  basin. 

*   Vide  note  appended  to  this  chapter. 


SANTORIN  {THERA),  107 


Apollonius  accompanies  his  account  of  Thera,  or 
Santorin,  with  an  interesting  legend.  'Euphemus,  in 
conformity  with  the  advice  of  an  oracle,  threw  a  morsel 
of  earth  into  the  sea,  then  there  grew  up  an  island,  which 
was  called  most  beautiful  (/caXXto-ri;),  and  which  has 
been  the  sacred  nurse  of  the  children  of  Euphemos.' 

This  was  supposed  to  have  occurred  about  the  time 
of  the  expedition  of  the  Argonauts  to  Colchis.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  the  neighbouring  Anaphi  was  supposed 
to  have  been  raised  by  Apollo  out  of  the  waves  for  the 
benefit  of  these  wandering  heroes.  And  the  fact  of  the 
appearance  of  islands  in  the  ^Egean  Sea  is  associated 
with  the  earliest  myths,  such  as  the  preparation  of  Delos 
for  the  birth  of  Apollo. 

When,  therefore,  did  Santorin  go  under  the  name  of 
the  most  beautiful }  Was  it  before  the  eruptions  buried 
it  with  the  present  layer  of  pumice,  or  was  it  after  this, 
when  it  was  level,  and  exceedingly  fertile  for  the  grape  ? 
However  hideous  it  may  seem  to  us,  we  know  that  our 
idea  of  the  beautiful  and  that  of  the  ancient  Greeks  differ 
considerably. 

And  then  it  was  called  Thera.  *  Was  it  because  it 
was  a  monstrosity.?'  (^^f>>  Orjpos,  a  monster),  I  asked 
Dr.  Dekigalla,  or  De  Cigalla,  of  Santorin  ;  to  which  he 
indignantly  replied  that  it  was  nothing  of  the  sort,  and 
that  it  was  called  Thera  after  a  son  of  a  Spartan  hero  of 
the  race  of  Kadmos,  and  Santorin  after  St  Irene.  Verily 
Santorin  has  changed  its  name  as  often  as  its  form,  and 
now  the  Greeks,  who  revive  everything  that  is  old,  call  it 
Thera  in  preference  to  the  name  Santorin,  by  which  it  was 
known  during  the  middle  ages. 

Naturally  the  eruption  of  198  B.C.  was  looked  upon 
with  the -greatest  awe,  and  the  Rhodians,  who  had  then 
the  supremacy  in  the  ^Egean  Sea,  hastened  to  build  upon 
the  newborn  islet  a  temple  to  Poseidon  Asphalios,  and  for 


io8  THE  CYCLADES. 


the  sake  of  euphony  it  was  called  *  sacred  island.'  For 
this  event  we  have  luckily  ample  authority,  Strabo, 
Seneca,  Eusebius,  Pliny,  and  others,  who  differ  slightly  as 
to  date,  but  in  substance  their  account  is  similar.  Strabo 
says,  *  Between  Thera  and  Therasia  flames  issued  out  of 
the  sea  for  four  days,  so  that  the  whole  sea  seemed  to 
seethe  and  blaze.  These  flames  created  little  by  little, 
as  if  with  tools,  an  island  composed  of  volcanic  bombs. *^ 

Plutarch  goes  further,  and  tells  us  that  it  was  in 
fulfilment  of  a  Pythian  oracle.  In  short,  we  can  gather 
that  the  whole  world  at  that  time  was  aghast  at  this 
sudden  apparition,  but  we  must  remark  that  another 
convulsion  which  separated  Thera  from  Therasia  is  not 
alluded  to.  Pliny  in  his  account  of  the  eruption  of  198 
mentioned  it  as  a  recognised  fact  that  this  northern 
channel  into  the  basin  was  made  by  a  convulsion.  And 
this  fact  on  examining  the  spot  is  obvious,  for  in  the  sea 
near  Therasia  are  engulfed  the  remains  of  buildings,  and 
on  a  hidden  reef  lying  close  to  the  Cape  of  Epanomerii 
a  few  years  ago  sponge-fishers  from  Kalymnos  found 
and  took  away  with  them  a  marble  lintel,  of  good  work- 
manship, with  the  pattern  of  a  rose  upon  it,  from  which 
it  is  likely  that  this  separation  took  place  in  historic 
times. 

The  next  eruption  about  which  we  have  any  infor- 
mation seems  to  have  increased  Old  Burnt  Island  by 
a  cape,  now  called  St  Nicholas,  about  the  year  60  A.D., 
according  to  George  of  Syngelos.  And  in  the  old 
chronology  of  Theophanes  there  is  reference  to  another, 
in  726  A.D.,  in  the  reign  of  Leo  the  Isaurian,  when  they 
saw  the  sea  boil  like  a  furnace,  and  thick  vapours  came 
out  of  it,  and  pumice  stone  covered  the  sea  far  and  wide, 
and  a  rock  appeared  which  united  itself  with  the  Old 
Burnt  Island, 


-1 
I 


SANTORIN  {THERA\  109 

About  an  eruption  in  1457,  when  a  portion  of  the 
Old  Burnt  Island  detached  itself  and  was  engulfed  in  the 
sea  with  a  great  noise,  the  only  authority  we  have  is  a 
Latin  inscription  in  the  Church  of  the  Jesuits,  in  honour  of 
the  then  Duke  Francis  Crispi  II.,  in  the  old  fortress 
capital  of  Santorin  called  Scaros. 

About  the  appearance  of  Little  Burntisland  in  1573 
we  have  better  authority,  for  the  Jesuit  Father  Richard 
gives  us  an  account  of  it  as  follows  : — *  There  are  many 
old  men  in  Santorin  who  say  they  saw  an  island  formed 
near  ours  in  the  middle  of  the  sea,  and  that  it  was  called 
Little  Burnt  Island.' 

But  for  the  terrible  eruption  in  1650,  when  an  island 
called  Kolombo  rose  out  of  the  sea,  outside  the  island 
cone  to  the  north-east  of  Santorin,  we  have  ample  infor- 
mation ;  and  the  appearance  of  this  island  shows  us  how 
far  the  cone  extends  underneath  the  sea,  boring  right 
under  the  island,  which  may  be  said  to  be  only  a  thin 
crust  of  earth  forming  the  lip  of  the  crater. 

Father  Richard's  account  is  written  in  Greek  verse, 
and  tells  us  all  they  suffered  during  that  awful  time. 
In  1649  such  terrible  earthquakes  shook  Santorin  that 
the  inhabitants  seriously  thought  of  abandoning  their 
island.  In  March  1650  these  grew  worse,  and  huge  de- 
tached blocks  rolled  down  into  the  sea,  killing  people 
on  their  way.  Clouds  of  thick  vapour  and  flames  were 
seen  to  issue  out  of  the  sea  at  the  spot  where  the 
island  eventually  appeared,  accompanied  by  a  fearful 
stench,  and  the  sea  turned  green ;  but  it  was  not  till 
September  28  that  the  volcano  burst  forth  with  a 
fearful  noise,  and  Kolombo  appeared  whilst  the  people 
were  in  church  praying  for  deliverance  and  mercy.  So 
great  was  the  noise  that  it  was  heard  as  far  as  the 
Dardanelles,  and  in  Chios  they  thought  a  naval  engage- 


no  THE  CYCLADES. 


ment  was  taking  place.  At  the  neighbouring  island  of 
los  a  wave  fifteen  yards  high  rose,  and  a  Turkish  fleet 
off  Keos  was  driven  against  the  coast  For  a  whole  day 
and  night  the  inhabitants  of  Santorin  were  enveloped  in 
such  thick  sulphurous  smoke  that  they  could  not  see 
the  sun.  Gold,  silver,  picture  frames  all  turned  black. 
Many  were  blinded  and  all  suffered  from  their  eyes ;  fifty 
people  died  of  these  noxious  vapours  and  a  thousand 
animals  were  asphyxiated.  A  boat  was  returning  from 
Amorgos,  and  chanced  to  pass  through  this  gas ;  it  was 
found  floating  a  few  days  afterwards  with  all  hands  on 
board  dead.  Even  when  the  worst  was  over,  and  the 
inhabitants  ran  down  to  the  shore  to  see  what  had 
happened,  many  of  the  most  venturesome  were  as- 
phyxiated. But  what  puzzled  the  people  most  was  that 
some  of  these  asphyxiated  people  revived  just  as  their 
friends  were  mourning  for  them  and  preparing  for  the 
funeral,  so  that  the  priest  had  to  return  home  with  his 
stole  and  his  cross  unused.  This  terrible  time,  even 
after  subsequent  eruptions,  was  known  as  the  year  of  evil. 
The  island  of  Kolombo  gradually  settled  down  below 
the  sea-level,  and  this  cone  is  now  a  reef  ten  to  twenty- 
five  fathoms  below  the  sea-level,  and  having  an  elevation 
of  a  hundred  fathoms  below  the  actual  bottom  of  the 
sea. 

The  next  eruption  was  in  1707,  when  New  Burnt 
Island  appeared  in  the  centre  of  the  basin  by  the  side  of 
the  Old  and  Little.  We  are  indebted  for  an  account  of 
this  to  an  Italian  MS  written  by  Mr.  Delenda,  then  the 
English  consular  agent  at  Santorin.  He  tells  us  that  on 
May  8  (old  style)  there  was  an  earthquake ;  on 
the  1 2th,  at  two  in  the  morning,  a  rock  like  a  ship  in 
distress  appeared,  which  they  went  to  look  at  in  boats, 
but  were  terrified  to  find  it  only  a  rock.     Some  of  the 


SANTORIN  ( TMERA),  1 1 1 

bravest,  after  an  hour's  deliberation,  and  enticed  by  the 
oysters  and  shellfish  thereon,  ventured  to  land.  At  length 
the  sea  became  mixed  with  sulphurous  vapours,  and  the 
rock  grew  in  size,  and  on  June  30  around  it  the  sea 
became  as  white  as  milk,  and  all  fish  in  the  harbour 
died.  Smoke  and  flames  now  issued  out  of  the  sea,  and 
much  damage  was  done  to  the  vines,  and  the  inhabitants 
night  and  day  heard  rumbling  noises  and  experienced 
successive  shocks  of  earthquake,  whilst  huge  volcanic 
bombs  were  shot  into  the  air,  with  less  and  less  force  and 
frequency,  until  the  humours  of  the  volcano  were  ex- 
hausted ;  but  it  was  not  really  at  rest  for  six  years  from 
its  first  commencement  In  1708  Father  Tarillon,  who 
also  wrote  a  reliable  account  of  this  eruption,  and  some 
other  ecclesiastics  ventured  into  the  mist,  and  were 
nearly  stifled  by  the  heat ;  the  water  was  boiling  all  round 
them,  and  when  they  got  back  they  found  that  the  heat 
of  the  water  had  taken  all  the  pitch  off"  their  boat. 

Nothing  happened  to  this  mysterious  workshop  of 
Vulcan  until  January  1866,  when  scientific  men  from  all 
nations  hurried  to  Santorin  to  witness  the  great  pheno- 
menon. This  eruption  continued  till  1870,  and  day  by 
day  Dr.  Dekigalla  (whose  acquaintance  we  made),  of 
Santorin,  an  elderly  man  of  extensive  learning,  and  a 
reputed  medical  author  in  Greece,  jotted  down  events 
as  they  happened  ;  his  diary  has  been  published,  and 
forms  a  valuable  history  of  this  eruption.  It  does  not, 
however,  appear  to  have  been  so  terrible  in  its  effects  as 
its  predecessors :  there  were  the  fiery  bombs,  three  new- 
born islands  appeared,  one  of  which  was  called  George  I., 
after  the  king  ;  they  grew  in  size  day  by  day,  until 
they  attached  themselves  to  the  New  Burnt  Island, 
and  thereby  lost  their  identity.  The  sea  was  green, 
the  water  hot,  sulphurous  smoke  covered  the  towns  and 


112  THE  CYC  LADES. 


villages,  which  were  in  the  line  of  wind,  and  great  incon- 
venience was  caused  thereby.  Naturally  terrible  fears 
visited  everyone,  and  all  were  eager  to  flee  ;  the  convent 
school  despatched  its  pupils  and  the  richer  inhabitants 
fled.  But  Santorin  is  a  rich  and  prosperous  island  ; 
nowhere  in  Greece  do  grapes  grow  so  well  as  here. 
So  mankind,  ever  trusting  in  the  lengthened  pauses 
between  each  convulsion,  returned  to  a  life  of  content- 
ment and  security,  even  though  it  is  over  one  of  the 
most  terrible  of  known  craters.  What  may  happen  next 
no  one  can  know.  The  crater  opened  outside  the  circle 
in  1650 ;  Therasia  broke  off,  when  we  cannot  say  ;  the 
land  in  many  places  has  subsided.  Another  eruption 
may  suddenly  come  on,  and  cover  Thera  with  feet  of 
pumice  or  engulf  her  in  the  sea.  And  yet  the  inhabi- 
tants are  happy,  and  amass  money  year  by  year  ;  for, 
as  say  the  Greeks,  *  he  who  has  money  has  a  tongue.' 
After  Syra,  nowhere  in  the  Cyclades  are  there  so  many 
well-to-do  people  as  there  are  in  Santorin. 

The  action  of  this  volcano  must  have  had,  in  the 
course  of  ages,  a  powerful  influence  over  the  inhabitants  ; 
for,  from  their  position,  the  towns,  built  on  the  edge  of 
the  cliff  overlooking  the  basin,  are  as  if  placed  in  an 
amphitheatre  to  overlook  the  mysterious  workings  of 
their  volcano. 

The  eruption  of  1650  is  the  first  about  which  we 
have  information  as  to  the  effect  on  the  inhabitants. 
One  of  the  MS.  accounts,  of  which  we  have  four,  tells  us 
that  most  people  suffered  from  sharp  pains  in  the  eyes, 
which  watered  profusely,  became  gathered  and  closed,  so 
that  for  a  day  and  a  half  most  of  the  Santoriniotes  were 
entirely  blind.  The  eruption  of  1707  was  similar  in  its 
effects  but  less  grave.    Father  Tarillon  and  others  attest 


SANTORIN  {THERA\  113 

to  the  noxious  effects  of  the  gases  and  sulphurous  ema- 
nations on  the  health  of  the  inhabitants. 

The  effects  on  the  nervous  system  which  such  terrible 
sights  would  have  on  a  credulous  and  uneducated  popu- 
lation, who  saw  giants  in  every  pillar  of  smoke  and  spent 
most  of  their  time  in  churches  praying  for  deliverance, 
can  well  be  realised.  Processions  and  fastings  without 
end  were  instituted,  so  that  even  the  suckling  babes  and 
animals  were  made  to  fast,  and  the  bishop  carried  the 
sacrament  about  barefooted.  During  this  last  erup- 
tion special  attention  was  paid  to  the  effect  on  health, 
and  the  results  showed  that  eye  affections,  biliousness, 
bronchial  maladies,  and  maladies  akin  to  it  were  very 
prevalent  during  the  time  ;  whilst  fevers,  rheumatism, 
consumption,  and  various  chronic  maladies,  which  are 
usually  rarer  at  Saritorin  than  elsewhere,  were  notably 
ameliorated. 

Each  town  suffered  from  the  fumes  according  to  the 
wind.  Even  the  inhabitants  from  los,  thirty  miles  from 
Santorin,  and  Anaphi,  twelve  miles  east,  and  Sikinos 
thirty-five  miles  north-west,  were  subject  in  a  less  degree 
to  the  influence  of  these  gases  when  the  wind  brought 
them  in  their  direction.  The  effect  on  plant  life  was  even 
more  marked :  the  slopes  of  Mesa  Boun6  looked  as  if 
they  had  been  burnt  by  a  long  drought,  the  asphodels, 
so  common  elsewhere  in  the  Cyclades,  were  all  dried  up 
and  killed  ;  but  the  volcanic  emanations  were  favourable 
rather  than  the  reverse  to  the  vines,  which  for  some 
years  previously  had  been  suffering  from  a  blight,  which 
this  wholesale  application  of  sulphur  entirely  removed. 

Everybody  we  told  that  we  were  going  to  Santorin 
had  some  new  story  to  tell  of  its  horrors,  and  the  neigh- 
bouring islanders  believe  firmly  that  the  crater  of  Santorin 
is  the  entrance  to  Hades,  whither,  say  the  Naxiotes,  our 

I 


114  THE  CYC  LADES, 


good  bishop  has  driven  all  the  vampires  and  ghosts,  so 
that  they  are  very  numerous  here,  and  roll  stones  down 
the  cliffs  at  travellers.  A  curious  fable  current  amongst 
the  neighbours  shows  the  dread  Santorin  is  held  in.  It 
runs  as  follows  : — 

*  Years  ago— one  hundred  and  fifty  perhaps — the 
catque  of  old  Laimos  was  on  its  way  to  Rhodes  ;  whilst 
at  sea  a  storm  came  on,  so  they  had  to  seek  refuge  on  an 
unknown  island.  When  day  broke  they  saw  three  mules 
coming  down  the  hill  laden  with  three  huge  stones  ;  they 
came  down  to  the  shore,  discharged  their  burden,  and  did 
the  same  thing  several  times.  The  sailors  looked  on  with 
astonishment,  for  the  mules  came  and  went,  and  there 
was  no  one  with  them  ;  so  one  of  the  bravest  went  up  to 
a  mule  and  struck  it  with  his  stick,  whereat  the  mule 
turned  round,  and  in  a  man's  voice  said,  "  Do  not  strike 
me,  cousin  ;  "  and  when  the  sailors  appeared  awestruck 
the  mule  continued,  "  It  may  appear  extraordinary  that 
I  call  you  cousin,  but  know  that  I  am  not  a  mule  from 
birth,  but  a  man  undergoing  punishment.  I  am  your 
cousin  Papa  Matsi,  who  deceived  many  with  my  lies, 
and  these  are  two  compatriots  undergoing  the  same 
sentence.  The  spot  is  called  Burnt  Island,  and  it  is  near 
Santorin.  Go  to  my  country  and  perform  spiritual 
offices,  that  our  souls  may  have  some  peace."  * 

After  these  few  remarks  on  the  nature  of  the  island 
we  were  about  to  visit  the  reader  will  better  understand 
the  impressions  created.  It  is  a  hideous  island,  fasci- 
nating in  its  hideousness.  No  swallows  build  their  nests 
here,  no  frogs  are  to  be  found  on  it,  and  the  scarosy  a 
fish  by  no  means  common  in  other  parts  of  Greece,  is  a 
constant  visitor  to  these  mysterious  waters. 


SANTORIN  [THERA),  115 


2.  The  Island  of  Santoritty  or  Thera, 

On  entering  the  basin  of  Santorin  one  experiences 
directly  the  pleasant  impression  of  seeing  something 
utterly  new.  To  the  left  we  were  swiftly  borne  past  a  white 
line  of  houses  perched  along  the  edge  of  blood  red  rocks 
which  form  the  northernmost  point  of  the  island.  This  is 
Epanomerii.  Further  on  the  red  promontory  of  Scaros 
juts  out  into  the  basin,  and  on  it  are  the  crumbling  ruins 
of  the  mediaeval  fortress ;  above  this,  on  black  rocks,  is 
perched  the  white  village  of  Meroviglia,  1,000  feet  above 
the  sea,  which  commences  a  long  line  of  white  houses, 
nearly  two  miles  in  extent  which  blends  itself  with 
Pheri,  the  present  capital  of  the  island. 

The  steamer  stopped  in  front  of  a  nest  of  houses, 
clinging  to  the  cliff,  which  forms  the  little  port.  And  what 
astounding  houses  they  are !  for  the  most  part  only  holes 
chiselled  in  the  soft  volcanic  rock,  and  faced  with  a 
fronting  of  stone,  in  which  is  a  door,  a  window  above  it, 
and  perhaps  one  on  each  side.  Half  the  inhabitants  of 
Santorin,  in  spite  of  the  encouragement  given  by  Govern- 
ment to  the  building  of  regular  houses,  prefer  to  live  like 
rabbits  in  the  ground.  The  capital  and  one  or  two  of  the 
principal  villages  now  boast  of  handsome  houses  properly 
built,  but  some  of  the  remote  villages  are  still  mere 
rabbit  warrens  excavated  in  the  pumice-stone  rocks  as 
they  have  been  for  centuries. 

The  wall  of  rock  is  ascended  by  a  newly  made  zigzag 
path,  which  joins  Phera  and  her  port,  950  feet  beneath 
her — which  950  feet  are  composed  of  countless  layers 

of  volcanic  eruptions  in  contorted  lines  of  black   and 

I  2 


ii6  THE  CYC  LADES, 


red.  Here  and  there  a  little  verdure  clings  to  the 
clifif ;  here  and  there  the  little  houses  peep,  like  owls, 
from  out  of  the  rocks ;  and  huge  black  boulders,  which 
have  been  loosened  and  fallen  in  times  of  earthquake, 
stand  ominously  threatening  on  the  next  opportunity  to 
roll  down  and  crush  the  houses  by  the  harbour. 

Frequent  accidents  occur  from  the  loosening  and 
fall  of  these  rocks,  and  a  word  peculiar  to  Santorin 
(fcarpd^Ls)  has  been  coined,  with  the  usual  phonetic 
success  of  the  Greek  tongue,  to  express  their  crushing 
roll.  Santorin  contains  many  quaint  words,  too,  of 
ancient  origin ;  anything  done  on  a  sudden  is  said  to  be 
tcoTTo^aWos,  at  the  throw  of  a  dice  {KorroSy  ^dWo)), 

Altogether  Santorin  is  an  awe-inspiring  spot,  and  we 
did  not  know  whether  to  be  glad  or  sorry  when  the 
steamer  went  away,  and  left  us  for  a  fortnight's  stay  in 
Vulcan's  palace.  The  eparch  of  Santorin  is  a  personage 
of  some  importance  :  he  is  one  of  the  Pariote  family  of 
Mavrojenes,  and  has  los,  Anaphi,  and  Amorgos  included 
in  his  eparchy.  He  received  us  with  great  cordiality, 
placing  at  our  disposal  an  empty  house  with  seven  rooms, 
and  sent  across  furniture  of  his  own  for  our  use,  and 
placed  us  under  the  immediate  care  of  Kera  Maria,  an 
old  woman  who  is  employed  by  everybody  in  Santorin 
as  cook  if  they  wish  to  give  a  feast ;  consequently  we  had 
not  to  fear  the  hardships  experienced  in  other  islands. 

Really  if  Phera,  as  the  capital  of  Thera  is  curiously 
called,  on  the  same  principle  that  in  modern  Greek 
Thebes  is  called  Pheba  (pron.  Pheva),  had  but  a  few 
trees  to  shelter  it,  it  would  be  an  inviting  residence  in 
the  summer,  perched,  as  it  is,  high  above  the  sea-level, 
and  commanding  views  of  an  astonishing  character  over 
the  basin,  the  volcanic  islands,  and  the  distance.  There 
are  delightful  walks  on  the  cliff  to  the  right  and  left,  the 


SANTORIN  {THERA).  117 

houses  of  the  well-to-do  are  large,  and,  there  is  a  pleasing 
air  of  prosperity  in  the  place.  All  the  houses  of  the 
poorer  class  which  are  not  made  in  the  ground  are  one- 
storeyed,  with  vaulted  roofs  of  stone,  and  covered  inside 
with  excellent  cement  made  out  of  Santorin  pumice- 
stone.  These  houses  are  firm,  and  resist  earthquakes 
better  than  flat  roofs ;  and  then  wood  is  too  scarce  in 
Thera  to  be  used  for  building  purposes,  except  by  the 
rich.  The  parish  church  of  Pheri  is  a  curious  object  to 
look  upon  :  it  is  built  out  of  bits  of  red  lava,  which  look 
like  irregular  bricks  fastened  together  with  cement. 
Inside  there  are  some  good  old  pictures  and  a  rich 
tempeloUy  for  at  the  times  of  the  eruptions  the  pious  have 
vowed  many  things  to  their  saint  in  their  extremity. 
St.  Peace,  that  is  to  say,  St.  Irene,  the  Byzantine 
empress,  who  has  supplied  Thera  with  its  new  name,  is 
the  protectress  of  the  island  ;  on  her  day  (May  5) 
they  have  grand  f&tes  and  rejoicings,  and  on  her  day, 
oddly  enough,  the  emissary  of  Hypselantes  in  1 821 
unfurled  the  banner  of  war  and  roused  the  Santoriniotes 
to  revolt. 

Before  starting  on  any  other  expedition  in  Santorin 
we  felt  it  our  duty  to  visit  the  centre  of  volcanic  activity 
on  the  Burnt  Islands,  in  the  middle  of  the  basin ;  accord- 
ingly the  following  morning  found  us  down  at  the 
harbour  again,  and  crossing  over  in  a  boat  to  the  now 
slumbering  cone.  It  only  took  us  half  an  hour  to  get 
across  to  New  Burnt  Island,  around  the  summit  of  which, 
four  hundred  feet  above  the  sea-level,  volumes  of  smoke 
still  wreathe  and  curl  to  prove  that  it  is  only  slumbering 
to  wake  again. 

There  are  plenty  of  ships  in  the  bays  and  creeks 
of  the  Burnt  Islands;  for  here  they  can  get  that 
anchorage  which  the   steep  cliffs  of  Santorin  do  not 


Ii8  THE  CYCLADES. 


provide  ;  and  furthermore  by  a  ten  days'  stay  in  these 
waters  the  bottoms  of  the  ships  become  clean  with- 
out any  effort  on  the  part  of  the  sailors.  Close  to 
where  we  landed  on  New  Burnt  Island  the  water  is  of  a 
bright  orange  colour  ;  we  had  noticed  this  from  the 
other  side,  and  were  curious  to  examine  it.  The  water, 
likewise,  is  almost  at  boiling  heat  in  parts,  and  where  it 
was  cooler  we  bathed  our  feet,  for  a  hot  foot-bath  is  a 
rarity  in  the  Cyclades,  The  cause  of  this  colour  is 
oxide  of  iron,  which  comes  out  of  the  cone,  and  blends 
with  the  sea,  colouring  it  for  some  distance  ;  and  then 
in  the  water  are  bubbles  of  vapour,  which  stick  to  the 
hairs  of  one's  legs. 

Before  the  last  eruption  there  was  a  bath  establish- 
ment here,  consisting  of  a  church  and  several  houses, 
much  frequented  in  summer  time  by  invalids ;  all  that 
is  left  of  it  is  the  vaulted  roofs  of  two  or  three  houses 
standing  out  of  the  water.  Since  that  time,  not  a  soul  has 
ventured  to  sleep  on  this  side.  The  aspect  of  everything 
is  infernal  beyond  description  ;  not  a  tree  grows  here, 
except  a  few  figs,  the  fruit  of  which  is  considered  of 
surpassing  excellence.  All  is  black,  save  a  few  bright 
coloured  stones  and  streaks  of  sulphur ;  huge  blocks  ot 
lava  and  broken  volcanic  bombs  lie  about  everywhere. 

The  ascent,  though  only  four  hundred  feet,  is  any- 
thing but  easy,  owing  to  the  ashes,  which  give  way 
beneath  the  feet,  and  the  jagged  promontories  of  red 
and  black  lava  rocks  which  have  to  be  passed.  On  the 
summit  there  are  extensive  lava  fields,  in  parts  too  hot 
to  be  touched,  and  on  which  we  were  told  we  could  have 
poached  eggs  if  we  had  had  any  with  us.  Out  of  fissures 
in  the  mountain  smoke  was  pouring  pretty  freely,  the 
sulphurous  fumes  of  which  gave  one  some  faint  idea 
of  what  the  inhabitants  of  Santorin  must  have  suffered 


SANTORIN  {THERA\  119 

when  enveloped  for  days  in  it  at  the  time  of  the  eruption. 
Large  patches  of  bright  yellow  sulphur  adorned  this 
extraordinary  spot.  No  wonder  it  excites  awe  in  those 
who  live  near  it !  The  sailors  who  rowed  us  home  told 
us  wonderful  tales  of  their  reminiscences  of  the  eruption- 
The  Hephaestus,  as  they  call  it,  is  to  them  a  terrible 
unknown  foe ;  the  inward  groanings  to  them  are  the 
furious  battle-cry  of  an  infernal  deity.  The  story  of 
Vulcan  at  his  forge  was  the  natural  outcome  of  such 
wonders  on  the  imaginative  mind  of  the  Greek  of  ancient 
days. 

Pheri  has  many  Roman  Catholics  in  it,  for  in  the 
middle  ages  numbers  of  Italian  and  Spanish  families 
settled  here  :  these  families  still  take  the  lead,  and  possess 
the  finest  houses.  There  are  the  Dekigallas  (De  Cigalli) 
and  Baroz^i,  of  Italian  origin  ;  there  are  the  Da  Corognas 
and  Delendas,  of  Spanish  origin,  said  to  be  remnants  of 
the  wandering  Catalans  who  haunted  these  seas  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  some  of  whom  reigned,  as  we 
have  previously  seen,^  in  Siphnos.  There  is  a  convent, 
too,  in  Pheri,  where  the  young  ladies  of  Santorin  are 
taught  French  ;  so  the  upper  class  inhabitants  of  this 
town  consider  themselves  very  Western  indeed,  and  give 
themselves  airs  which  are  highly  displeasing  to  the 
Greeks :  never  was  there  any  love  lost  between  devotees 
of  the  Eastern  and  Western  dogmas. 

On  the  following  morning  I  set  off  for  a  walk  along 
the  cliff  to  visit  the  old  ruined  town  of  Scaros,  where  the 
Italian  princes  who  were  younger  sons  of  the  dukes  of 
Naxos  held  their  court.  All  along  the  cliff  the  town 
continues  as  a  thin  line — sometimes  only  one  house  or 
windmill  thick — until  Meroviglia  is  reached,  which  stands 
considerably  higher  than  Pheri,  and  is  conspicuous  on  all 

*   Vtdep,  30. 


I20  THE  CYC  LADES. 

sides  by  a  tiny  white  church  which  crowns  a  pinnacle  of 
black  lava,  rising  a  thousand  feet  straight  out  of  the  sea. 

Below  Meroviglia  the  red  rock  on  which  Scaros  is 
built  juts  out  into  the  bay  ;  on  the  top  of  it  is  the  castle 
of  the  mediaeval  rulers,  and  around  cluster  the  old  houses 
which  ^vere  abandoned  only  twenty  years  ago  because 
they  were  falling  into  the  sea  ;  and  the  last  inhabitant, 
an  old  woman,  had  to  be  dragged  away  by  main  force, 
so  attached  was  she  to  the  home  of  her  ancestors.  Few 
visit  the  spot  now,  for  the  approach  is  difficult ;  but 
wishing  to  find  an  inscription  on  the  cliff  which,  the 
demarch  of  Meroviglia  told  me,  showed  that  this  rock 
was  once  cialled  the  Mount  of  Jupiter,  I  climbed  over 
a  good  part  of  it  without  discovering  the  object  of  my 
search.  Inscriptions  have  been  found  here,  and  traces  of 
old  Hellenic  walls,  which  prove  that  it  was  the  town  which 
Herodotus  alludes  to  as  Emaios. 

From  one  point  of  view  the  crumbling  ruins  of  the 
mediaeval  town  are  interesting,  for  they  show  the  strength 
of  the  vaulted  cement  roofs,  which  only  fall  to  pieces  in 
huge  masses,  the  arches  being  firmly  wedged  together 
and  levelled  with  cement ;  some  of  these  houses  are  two- 
storeyed,  and  hold  together  in  a  remarkable  way.  Scaros 
must  have  been  a  strong  spot  in  ancient  days,  and  one 
can  understand  how  a  place  like  this  managed  to  resist 
the  Athenian  lordship  in  431  B.C.  The  demarch  of 
Meroviglia  has  a  quantity  of  antiquities  collected  from 
here,  which  he  showed  me  on  my  return  to  his  house  for 
a  cup  of  tea  and  rum — a  favourite  beverage  here  on  a 
cold  day. 

On  the  following  morning  we  set  off  for  a  long  walk 
to  explore  the  slopes  of  the  island,  which  gently  lead 
down  to  the  outer  sea.  The  aspect  of  the  place  is  ugly 
enough   in   winter,  and   resembles   a  brown   flat  plain 


SANTO R/N  {THERA\  121 

covered  with  hampers,  for  at  Santorin  they  always 
weave  the  tendrils  of  their  vines  into  circles,  the  effect 
in  winter  being  that  each  vineyard  looks  as  if  hampers 
were  placed  all  over  it  iq  rows  and  at  intervals  of  every 
two  yards.  The  Santoriniotes  treat  the  vine  differently 
to  the  other  islanders,  for  here  they  plough  their  vine- 
yards instead  of  digging  them,  and,  contrary  to  the 
biblical  injunction,  I  have  often  seen  a  bullock  yoked  to 
a  mule  in  so  doing. 

For  the  first  two  or  three  years  after  planting  a 
vine  they  cut  off  most  of  the  shoots,  leaving  only  a 
few  trailing  on  the  ground,  after  which  they  weave 
them  into  the  above-mentioned  baskets,  which  in  summer 
are  quite  hidden  with  leaves  and  fruit.  This  hamper  in- 
creases in  size  year  by  year,  until  after  twenty  years  it 
is  cut  off  and  the  vine  is  left  with  only  a  few  branches,  of 
which  some  are  trailed  round  in  circles  and  others  left 
lying  on  the  ground.  This  work  is  done  yearly,  and  has 
the  local  name  of  icKahav. 

The  wine  of  Santorin  is  certainly  most  excellent, 
and  is  drunk  largely  in  Russia  ;  much,  too,  finds  its  way, 
vid  France,  to  England  under  the  name  of  claret ;  but 
a  cunning  wine-maker  has   christened  a  certain  brand 

*  Bordeaux,'  and  hopes  by  this  artifice  it  may  sell  in 
England  without  passing  through  a  French  cellar,  which 
entails  considerable  reduction  in  profits.  But  the  best 
wine  in  the  island  is  a  white  one  called  *  of  the  night ' 
(t^^  vvktos)  because  the  grapes  of  which  it  is  made 
are  gathered  before  sunrise,  and  are  supposed  to  have  a 
better  aroma  from  this  cause.  They  make  more  wine 
here  than  anywhere  else  in  Greece ;  they  have  seventy 
different  kinds  of  grapes,  the  best  of  which  are  chosen 
for  making  that  abominably  luscious  production  called 

*  vino  Sknto ' :  the  grapes  are  exposed  on  the  roofs  in 


122  THE  CYC  LADES, 


the  sun  for  fourteen  days  before  they  are  pressed  ;  hence 
sweetness  and  consistency  are  acquired. 

Without  her  vineyards  Santorin  would  be  a  desert. 
There  is  not  enough  barley  grown  to  support  a  quarter 
of  the  inhabitants,  there  is  not  nearly  straw  enough  for 
the  mules,  which  deficiency  is  supplied  by  giving  them 
the  soft  shoots  of  the  vines  to  eat,  whereas  the  ex- 
traneous branches  are  given  to  the  hens.  Even  the 
branches  and  old  hampers  which  are  despised  by  the 
mules  and  the  hens  are  not  sufficient  to  supply  the 
inhabitants  with  wood  enough  for  their  cooking  purposes. 
Every  article  of  clothing  and  every  household  utensil 
come  from  without ;  even  water  in  years  of  drought  has 
to  be  fetched  from  the  neighbouring  islands  ;  and  as  we 
toiled  through  the  basket-covered  fields,  the  thin  light 
soil  of  which  made  walking  such  an  exertion,  we  re- 
gretted that  it  was  January,  and  not  July,  when  all  those 
baskets  would  be  green  and  the  grapes  would  hang 
temptingly  around. 

Everywhere  we  passed  cisterns  excavated  in  the 
ground  and  coated  with  cement.  Some  of  these  are 
thirty  to  forty  yards  in  circumference,  for  Santorin  is 
almost  waterless  except  for  that  collected  in  these  cisterns. 
Every  house  has  its  own  cistern,  and  public  ones  are  kept 
at  the  expense  of  the  community  at  fitting  intervals 
along  the  roadsides,  and  provided  with  a  pail  for  drawing 
up  the  water,  and  troughs  for  the  mules  to  drink  out  of. 

Only  three  natural  springs  exist  on  the  island,  and 
are  in  that  part  which  is  not  volcanic.  One  of  these  is 
called  the  'life-giving  stream,'  and  has  the  curious 
anomaly  of  flowing  more  plentifully  in  drought ;  on  the 
same  formation  four  wells  have  been  dug ;  the  rest  of 
the  island  depends  entirely  on  its  cisterns.  Considering 
that  the  water  collected  into  these  reservoirs  flows  from 


SANTORIN  {THERA),  123 

all  sides,  from  courtyards  and  alleys,  the  property  of 
pigs  and  dogs,  I  felt  rather  chary  about  drinking  it ;  but 
in  reality  it  is  most  delicious  water,  the  pumice-stone 
cement  apparently  purifies  it ;  it  is  clear  as  crystal,  and  cool, 
but  produces  rather  than  allays  thirst. 

We  passed  the  great  monolith  in  our  walk  in  the 
middle  of  the  plain,  with  a  convent  nestling  beneath  it, 
where  there  is  the  festival  of  St.  John  of  the  Monolith 
once  a  year ;  and  midday  brought  us  to  the  curious  village 
of  Gonia,  of  which  from  a  distance  all  that  can  be  seen 
are  the  two  churches,  for  most  of  the  houses  of  the  village 
are  excavated  in  the  pumice-stone  rock. 

In  one  of  these  we  lunched  frugally  enough  off  hard- 
boiled  eggs  and  green  pork  sausages.  They  said  we 
could  get  better  food  at  the  next  village,  but  we  were 
hungry,  and,  to  use  a  Greek  proverb,  *  preferred  our  egg\ 
to-day  to  our  fowl  to-morrow.'  The  house  was  composed 
of  two  rooms,  both  in  the  rock  ;  the  outer  one  the  family 
occupied  by  day,  with  a  door  opening  into  the  street,  a 
window  over  it  and  one  on  each  side ;  the  inner  room  the 
family  occupied  by  night,  and  into  this  a  ray  of  sunlight 
never  penetrates. 

These  excavated  houses  (aKaunh  airiria)  are  the  sub- 
ject of  special  legislation  in  Santorin.  Those  dwelling  in 
them  have  no  actual  right  to  the  land  over  their  heads, 
but  then  nobody  can  make  a  vineyard  or  a  reservoir 
without  the  consent  of  the  householder  below. 

The  next  village  we  passed  through  is  called  Bothr6 
or  *  Trench,'  and  is  a  yet  more  perfect  specimen  of  these 
Santorin  rabbit  warrens  :  the  village  occupies  the  bed  of 
one  of  those  chasms  or  water-courses  (Trora/Aol),  and  not  a 
sign  of  habitation,  except  the  church,  can  be  seen  until 
you  are  in  the  midst  of  it.  The  construction  is  thus.  The 
bed  of  the  torrent  forms  the  street ;  on  either  side  are 


124  THE  CYCLADES. 

lovely  gardens,  for  in  this  sheltered  spot  everything 
flourishes  ;  luxuriant  prickly  pears  and  geraniums  flower 
all  the  year  round,  and  vines  hang  in  festoosn  from 
trellises ;  the  houses  on  either  side  of  the  street  are  in 
the  rock.  Each  house  has  been  chiselled  out,  and  pre- 
sents only  a  front  wall  with  doors  and  windows.  People 
say  they  are  healthy  ;  in  fact,  epidemics  are  exceedingly 
rare  in  Santorin.  They  are  cool  in  summer  and  warm  in 
winter,  but  they  are  damp  ;  and,  curiously  enough,  though 
water  is  so  scarce,  the  inhabitants  of  Santorin  suffer 
more  from  damp  than  anything  else,  for  the  moisture 
created  by  the  sea  air  is  not  absorbed  by  the  dry  earth 
and  gets  into  other  things.  Bread  becomes  mouldy  di- 
rectly, and  so  do  boots,  salt  is  always  damp,  tools  rust 
in  twenty-four  hours,  and  those  strings  of  beads,  {KOfi- 
fioXoyia)  with  which  the  Greeks  delight  to  play,  get  as 
wet  as  if  they  had  been  dipped  in  water.  Books  decay 
as  if  from  worms,  and  in  an  empty  house  you  see  spiders' 
webs  hanging  and  sparkling  with  moisture  in  the  sun- 
shine. I  never  was  more  surprised  than  when  I  found 
mosquitos  abundant  in  January  here — they  have  them 
all  the  year  round — and  not  a  duckpond  on  the  island. 
At  Bothr6  we  went  to  visit  a  shoemaker  renowned  for 
his  songs.  He  was  hard  at  work  in  his  excavated  house, 
which  consisted  of  only  one  large  room  :  he  had  two 
sabounas  hung  over  his  bed,  and  he  was  hard  at  work 
with  his  apprentices  at  his  craft.  The  songs,  as  sung  by 
our  friend  the  shoemaker,  were  very  pleasantly  illustrative 
of  Greek  village  customs  ;  a  talented  man,  such  as  he  is, 
is  recognised  as  the  village  bard  ;  he  not  only  sings  the 
songs  he  has  learnt  from  his  elders,  but  he  is  deputed 
to  make  songs,  like  a  poet  laureate,  about  the  passing 
events  of  life.  These  he  teaches  to  his  apprentices  whilst 
they  are  at  work  ;  and  so,  like  the  tales  of  Homer,  they 


SANTORIN  {THERA).  125 

are  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation.  He  sang 
us  one  about  a  woman  of  Santorin,  who  two  years  before 
had  murdered  her  husband.  For  greater  effect  he  shut  his 
eyes  whilst  singing,  and  now  and  again  when  he  felt 
hoarse  he  took  a  pull  at  the  mastic  bottle  which  an 
apprentice  held  ready  for  him.  But  his  masterpiece  is 
a  song  about  the  eruption  of  1866-70;  it  is  very  long 
and  lasted  nearly  three  quarters  of  an  hour,  always 
in  the  same  monotonous,  jerky  key  ;  but  all  listened 
intently,  and  so  did  I,  for  he  articulated  his  words  with 
surprising  distinctness  ;  and  if  the  poetry  was  indifferent 
the  facts  were  there,  for  he  began  : — 

In  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-six, 
On  the  seventeenth  of  January, 
On  Tuesday,  at  four  o'clock, 
Hephaestus  commenced  his  eruption  ; 

and  then  proceeded  to  describe  each  event  minutely — 
how  professors  and  steamers  came  from  afar ;' how 
Thera  was  the  wonder  of  all  the  earth — and  now  and 
again  before  a  pause,  and  as  a  hint  that  he  wanted  a 
pull  at  the  mastic  bottle,  he  broke  his  narrative  with  a 
pretty  refrain : — 

O  Thera  !  loveliest  isle  of  Greece, 

Our  peaceful,  happy  home. 
Will  this  great  dread  be  overpast. 

Or  waste  wilt  thou  become  } 

At  Bothr6  we  visited  many  of  these  dug-out  houses, 
and  found  their  inhabitants  prosperous  and  sharp-witted. 
From  what  I  saw  I  quite  think  the  Santoriniotes  are 
the  sharpest  Greeks  I  have  ever  met ;  they  indulge  in 
neat  expressions,  too ;  for  example,  if  you  try  to  do 
something  they  deem  impossible,  after  the   manner   of 


126  THE  CYCLADES. 


English  travellers  they  will  say,  *  A  blind  man  found 
a  needle  in  the  straw,  and  a  deaf  man  told  him  that  he 
heard  it  fall.'  And  when  I  passed  a  compliment  on  the 
remark  the  answer  was,  *  Bah  !  bah !  one  less,  one  more, 
we  are  all  mad/ 

HoXos  oXiyoVj  iroios  no\v, 
"OXoi  tlfit&a  rp€XXoL 

Each  householder  at  Bothr6  has  his  vineyard,  his  fig- 
tree,  and  his  mule.  There  are  five  chalk-kilns  close  by, 
which  drive  a  roaring  trade  ;  and  the  peasants  are  frugal, 
being  able  to  work  for  hours  without  food,  and  drinking 
only  water  out  of  their  gourds.  They  told  me  at  Bothr6 
a  great  deal  about  the  village  festivities  after  the  vintage, 
the  great  event  of  the  year  in  Santorin.  Our  friend  the 
shoemaker  is  always  an  exalted  personage  on  these  occa- 
sions ;  he  is  sent  for,  even  to  the  winepress,  as  they  tread 
the  grapes  ;  there  he  plays  his  sabouna  and  sings  his  songs 
to  encourage  them  in  their  work.  What  a  feast  they  have 
when  all  this  is  over  in  each  of  their  rock  dwellings !  After 
the  feast,  fires  are  lighted  in  the  bed  of  the  torrent  or 
street,  round  which  they  dance,  saying  they  are  burning 
the  beard  of  Chronos  ;  then  they  part,  saying,  *  ToO 
'Xpovov '  (till  next  year)  to  one  another. 

They  do  deserve  a  little  fun  after  the  hard  work  of 
the  vintage  in  the  summer  heats  :  there  is  first  of  all 
the  arduous  task  of  picking  the  bunches,  then  they 
have  to  carry  the  heavily  laden  baskets  to  a  vault  in  the 
pumice  rock  (Kavo^a,  from  Ital.  canovd),  which  serves 
as  winepress  and  cellar.  Basketful  after  basketful  is 
poured  into  this  press  until  it  is  higher  than  the  height 
of  a  man.  Here  they  leave  them  for  eight  days  to  com- 
press one  another  with  their  own  weight,  and  then  comes 
the  pressing  with  the  feet  in  the  Trararripiov^  until  the 


SANTO RIN  (THERA).  127 

juice  runs  out  into  the  \r\v6s ;  after  which  it  is  transferred 
to  barrels  made  of  wood  expressly  fetched  from  the  forests 
of  Thasos. 

The  church  of  Bothr6  stands  in  a  conspicuous  eleva- 
tion above  the  trench  ;  in  fact,  from  Pheri  the  only  trace 
of  these  four  villages  buried  in  the  clefts  is  a  row  of  four 
churches.  And  I  felt  much  difficulty  in  believing  that 
they  were  the  churches  of  four  different  villages  until  I 
had  paid  them  a  visit.  Under  the  venerable  cypress  by 
the  church  of  Bothr6  stands  a  plain  sarcophagus  of 
ancient  date,  and  in  another  of  these  churches  are  other 
remnants  of  antiquity,  for  few  islands  can  boast  of  more 
relics  of  the  past  than  Thera. 

Our  next  expedition  was  not  so  interesting ;  it  was 
to  the  village  of  Pyrgos,  high  up  on  the  hillside,  where 
the  coating  of  pumice  clings  to  the  lower  spurs  of 
Mesa  Boun6  and  its  twin  peak.  Mount  Prophet  Elias. 
As  its  name  implies,  Pyrgos  is  a  fortified  town  or  fortress 
much  resorted  to  in  days  gone  by,  when  pirates  ventured 
into  the  basin  of  Santorin.  It  is  just  like  all  the  island 
fortified  towns,  dirty  and  old-world,  decidedly  more  pic- 
turesque than  the  long  white  line  of  Pheri,  but  less 
peculiar  than  Bothr6.  And  then  we  toiled  up  the  lime- 
stone mountain  to  the  convent  of  the  prophet,  from 
which  vantage  ground  a  most  superb  view  is  enjoyed. 
Far,  far  away  on  the  southern  horizon  are  seen  Mount 
Ida  and  other  snow-capped  peaks  of  Crete  ;  to  the  east 
are  the  Sporades,  Kos,  Patmos,  Ikaria,  Samos,  hugging 
the  coast  of  Asia  Minor;  whilst  around  us  are  scattered, 
like  leaves  in  autumn,  the  many-shaped  Cyclades. 

From  Mount  Elias  the  formation  of  Santorin  is  seen 
most  easily — how  the  crater  has  spread  itself  and  hung  to 
the  mountain  -on  which  we  now  were.  Thera,  as  being 
the  southernmost  island  in  the  archipelago,  is  a  favourite 


128  THE  CYC  LADES, 

halting  place  for  birds  of  passage  in  their  various  seasons 
before  commencing  their  long  flight.  August,  perhaps, 
when  the  quails  pass  by,  is  the  busiest  of  these  times  ;  and 
then  everyone  is  a  sportsman,  for  the  quails  perfectly 
cover  the  plain  and  mountains.  Guns  and  ammunition  are 
expensive  luxuries,  reserved  only  for  the  well-to-do  ;  so 
those  whose  means  are  limited  go  forth  to  the  chase 
armed  with  long  nets  which  they  attach  to  the  end  of  a 
bifurcated  stick  ;  then  they  stand  behind  walls  and  send 
dogs  into  the  fields,  and  they  catch  the  quails  like  butter- 
flies as  they  pass.  During  August  you  can  buy  a  good 
fat  quail  for  a  penny  in  Santorin  ;  they  keep  them  for 
months  on  millet  seed  in  upper  rooms,  and  when  they 
are  fat  enough  they  boil  them  with  a  little  vinegar  and 
salt,  and  put  them  by. 

They  have  cleverly  contrived  traps,  too,  for  the 
numerous  little  birds  which  pass  in  October,  nets 
which  close  when  the  birds  enter  to  take  a  bait :  the 
sportsman  is  concealed  fifty  yards  off*,  and  the  little  birds 
are  attracted  to  the  spot  by  decoy  birds  placed  in  cages  in 
a  fig  tree.  In  the  winter  Santorin  is  well  supplied  with 
partridges  and  woodcocks,  so  there  is  no  lack  of  game. 

It  was  on  our  return  from  Anaphi  that  we  landed 
on  the  southern  point  of  Santorin  known  as  Akroteri, 
a  blood  red  promontory  on  which  was  built  a  white 
church  to  the  honour  of  the  sailors'  patron,  St.  Nicholas. 
All  around  are  dotted  heaps  of  stones,  left  by  the  faithful, 
as  in  Melos,  as  an  earnest  of  their  return ;  and  then  we 
plunged  into  a  deep  volcanic  gorge,  and  did  not  reach 
the  old  village  of  Akroteri  without  considerable  toil. 
It  is  a  huge  overgrown  Venetian  fortress  village  full  of 
labyrinthine  alleys,  and  we  were  lodged  for  the  night 
right  at  the  top  of  the  fort,  where  evidently  in  former 
days  had  dwelt  the  governor. 


SANTORIN  {THERA),  129 

It  was  the  eve  of  St.  Basil — New  Year's  Eve  in  Greece, 
according  to  the  old  style — so  the  village  was  en  fite. 
The  great  amusement  on  these  occasions  is  the  'calends/ 
or  songs  called  KoXavhaiy  *the  Greek  calends/  which 
though  twelve  days  late,  according  to  our  notion,  really 
had  come.  Companies  of  children  and  young  men  club 
together  and  wander  from  house  to  house  singing  their 
*  calend  song,'  carrying  with  them  an  ornament  some- 
what like  a  Christmas  tree,  a  round  thing  covered  with 
green  and  hung  with  flowers  and  lanterns. 

Their  songs  consist  of  long,  chanted  stories,  begin- 
ning thus,  *  To-day  we  celebrate  the  circumcision  of 
our  Lord  and  the  feast  of  the  blessed  great  Basil ; ' 
then  follow  accounts  of  Christ  and  of  Basil,  and  they 
finish  up  by  saying,  *  Many  years  to  you  ! '  and  receive 
each  a  glass  of  mastic  or  some  coppers  in  exchange  for 
their  good  wishes.  Similar  festivities  are  carried  on 
on  March  i  and  on  May  i  ;  also  on  Good  Friday, 
Christmas,  and  other  feasts  children  go  round  and  sing, 
getting  eggs,  bread,  and  other  gifts  in  return  for  their 
songs. 

All  round  Akroteri  are  vast  caves  in  the  volcanic 
rocks,  which  are  used  as  stables  for  cows  and  goats  ;  we 
entered  one,  and  terrified  an  old  woman  who  was  look- 
ing after  her  cows.  She  darted  out  past  us  screaming 
for  help,  saying  strange  robbers  had  come  to  steal  her 
cattle  ;  neither  was  she  pacified  when  told  we  were 
English  (^AyyXoi).  *  Angels  ! '  shrieked  she,  *  from  the 
infernal  regions,  I  should  think ;  *  whereat  all  laughed 
and  we  thought  the  old  woman  not  so  discerning  as  Pope 
Gregory.  The  inhabitants  of  Akroteri  were  very  busy 
visiting  to-day  ;  each  housewife  had  put  on  her  best,  and 
had  adorned  her  table  with  glasses  and  delicious  sweets. 

K 


i^o  THE  CYCLADES. 

I  should  be  ashamed  to  say  how  many  spoonfuls  of  rose 
leaf  or  orange  flower  jam,  or  how  many  glasses  of 
liqueur  we  swallowed  that  day,  being  careful  to  re- 
member to  wish  *  many  years  *  to  all  around  us  before 
touching  the  beverage  with  our  lips. 

Amongst  other  delicacies  peculiar  to  Santorin  is 
tyropita^  which,  literally  translated,  means  cheesecake.  It 
is  a  curious  composition,  the  first  ingredient  being  a  curd 
of  sheep's  milk  (;;^Xa)|oo),  then  some  eggs,  cheese,  barley, 
cinnamon,  mastic,  and  saffron.  The  impression  left  upon 
us  when  tasting  it  was  that  it  was  horrid,  but  the  San- 
toriniotes  are  wild  about  it,  and  at  Easter  time,  sooner 
than  be  without  his  cheesecake,  a  peasant  will  go  through 
any  privation.  At  this  time  they  bake  as  many  as  fifty  or 
sixty  for  each  family,  and  what  they  cannot  eat,  when  it  is 
the  consistency  of  a  poultice,  they  dry  and  soak  in  their 
coffee  on  other  feast  days. 

After  visiting   the  prehistoric  remains  at  Akroteri 
we  mounted  our  mules  and  returned  to  Pher^t.     About 
half  a  mile  on  this  side  of  the  capital  is  the  leper  hospital, 
said  to  be  the  best  in  Greece.     There  is  a  white  pyramid 
near  it  to  warn  people  off,  but  in  spite  of  this  we  went  in. 
There  are  only  seven  inmates  now,  and  each  has  a  cell 
cut  in  the  volcanic  cliff,  very  tiny  but  clean.   Poor  things  ! 
they  were  very  surprised  to  see  us,  and  showed  us  their 
misfortunes — their  withered  hands  and  limbs — with  an 
eager  wish  for  compassion.   They  have  their  little  chapel, 
too,  with  a  glass  partition  to  shut  them  off,  and  through 
which  they  may  see  their  friends  ;  they  pressed  us  very 
hard  to  go  into  the  cells  and  see  their  possessions,  but 
we  preferred  to  inspect  them  from  outside.     They  may 
walk  on  the  cliff  within  certain  limits  from  time  to  time, 
but  are  never  allowed  to  approach  the  town.     All  were 
old  except  one  poor  lad  of  eighteen,  and  I  could  not  help 


SANTORIN  {THERA),  131 

wishing  him  a  companion  of  his  own  age,  for  it  must  be 
very  dull  for  him  with  four  old  women  and  two  bedridden 
old  men. 

There  are  a  great  number  of  blear-eyed  people  in 
Santorin,  dating  their  troubles,  doubtless,  from  the  last 
eruption,  and  a  painful  number  of  idiots  and  lunatics,  and 
no  asylum  for  them.  One  poor  fellow  I  was  pointed  out 
at  the  caf<6  as  being  very  dangerous  at  times,  for  when 
his  fits  are  on  it  takes  five  men  to  hold  him  ;  they  just 
run  him  into  the  jail  till  the  paroxysm  is  past,  and  then 
let  him  out  again. 

There  is  something  very  sombre  about  the  dress  of 
the  women  here — you  seldom  see  one  out  of  mourning. 
Their  heads  are  tightly  enveloped  in  a  black  handker- 
chief, and  when  the  north  wind  blows,  and  raises  the  thin, 
small  dust,  they  cover  up  their  faces  altogether,  and  the 
north  wind  can  blow  with  a  vengeance  at  Pher^.  We 
had  a  biting  northern  blast  for  three  whole  days,  accom- 
panied by  drifting  small  snow — weather  such  as  we  rarely 
have  in  England  for  misery  ;  and  when  the  only  available 
fire  is  a  brazier  with  charcoal  ashes,  which  gives  you  a 
headache  if  you  stoop  over  it,  the  only  alleviation  to 
your  misery  is  to  stay  in  bed  or  take  exercise  of  an 
exceedingly  active  nature. 

Deciding  on  the  latter  course  on  one  of  these  days  I 
set  off  for  the  northern  town  of  Epanomerii.  The  snow 
and  wind  cut  our  faces  terribly — at  times  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  struggle  against  the  blast.  Up  at  Mero- 
viglia  the  ground  was  hard  with  frost ;  we  felt  perished, 
and  decided  to  return  to  our  brazier  and  our  beds,  but 
our  friend  the  demarch  put  new  life  into  us  by  another 
dose  of  hot  tea  and  rum  ;  so  we  plodded  on  till  Epano- 
meriel  was  reached.  The  road  thither  is  very  uneven — 
now  you  climb  a  rock,  and  are  perished  by  the  wind  ; 

K  2 


132  THE  CYC  LADES, 


now  you  are  in  shelter,  and  the  sun  scorches :  such  is  the 
winter  climate  on  a  volcano  in  the  sunny  south. 

As  we  approached  Epanomeritfi  the  volcanic  rocks 
grew  redder,  and  at  the  town  itself  all  the  formation  of 
the  rocks  is  red.  This  the  inhabitants  have  utilised  to 
make  their  houses  gayer,  and  here  there  are  many  fine 
large  houses,  built  of  stones  hewn  out  of  these  red  rocks, 
set  together  firmly  with  cement,  and  into  the  cement  are 
inserted  little  red  stones  by  way  of  ornament. 

It  is  a  flourishing  place,  where  most  of  the  sea  cap- 
tains and  pilots  dwell ;  by  one  of  these  we  were  hos- 
pitably entertained  on  fried  eggs,  with  pork  sausages  cut 
up  with  them.  The  captain  was  very  talkative,  asking 
innumerable  questions  about  England  and  far-oflT  lands. 

He  told  us  much,  too,  about  the  shipping  of  Santorin 
that  interested  us— how  when  they  have  built  a  new 
vessel  they  have  a  grand  ceremony  at  the  launching,  or 
benediction,  as  they  call  it  here,  at  which  the  priest  offi- 
ciates ;  and  the  crowd  eagerly  watch,  as  she  glides  into 
the  water,  the  position  she  takes,  for  an  omen  is  attached 
to  this.  It  is  customary  to  slaughter  an  ox,  a  lamb,  or  a 
dove  on  these  occasions,  according  to  the  wealth  of  the 
proprietor  and  the  size  of  the  ship,  and  with  the  blood 
to  make  a  cross  on  the  deck.  After  this  the  captain 
jumps  off  the  bows  into  the  sea  with  all  his  clothes  on, 
and  the  ceremony  is  followed  by  a  banquet  and  much 
rejoicing.  I  must  say  that  the  aspect  of  Epanomeriit 
is  more  cheerful  than  that  of  the  other  villages,  for  here 
all  the  houses  are  above  the  ground,  and  the  Venetian 
fort  on  the  headland  forms  a  pleasing  addition  to  the 
gay  red  houses. 

On  our  return  journey  we  went  to  visit  a  spot  called 
Kolombo,  on  the  north  of  the  island,  off  which,  in  1650, 
the  island  which  bore  the  same  name  appeared  in  the 


SANTORIN  (THERA).  133 

sea.  There  are  lots  of  Roman  tombs  here  cut  in  the 
rocks,  which  bear  a  remarkable  resemblance  to  the 
present  style  of  dwelling-house  in  Bothr6  and  other  vil- 
lages, having  a  low  door  and  a  window  on  either  side ; 
traces  of  ironwork  are  seen,  and  in  some  of  the  tombs 
there  are  places  for  three,  five,  or  seven  bodies.  Close  to 
here  was  once  a  Roman  town,  and  into  the  walls  of  a 
neighbouring  church  is  let  a  Roman  statue. 

Next  morning  was  Sunday,  and  though  the  wind 
was  still  very  cold,  and  occasional  snowstorms  passed 
over  us,  yet  we  could  not  afibrd  to  stay  in  bed,  nor  could 
we  walk  far,  for  we  were  bidden  to  a  wedding — that  of 
the  daughter  of  our  muleteer,  who  lived,  not  far  from 
Pheri,  in  one  of  those  rock-cut  dwellings. 

We  had  heard  much  about  weddings  in  Greece, 
strange  customs  having  been  collected  by  various  tra- 
vellers from  various  points  of  Hellas,  and  the  union  of 
them  all  had  given  us  a  confused  idea  of  what  a  Greek 
peasant  wedding  in  a  remote  island  would  be.  I  will 
now  simply  relate  what  I  saw  at  Santorin  ;  it  had  its 
own  peculiarities,  but  many  of  those  peculiarities  which 
we  were  accustomed  to  associate  with  Greek  weddings 
were  absent. 

We  arrived  at  the  house  about  two  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon  ;  it  consisted,  as  usual,  of  two  rooms  excavated 
out  of  the  rock.  The  outer  one  was  fitted  up  with 
divans  and  chairs  for  the  guests,  and  in  the  inner  one,  a 
dingy  dark  hole,  we  saw  the  bride  being  dressed  by  her 
lady  friends  by  the  light  of  a  candle.  She  was  a  tall, 
handsome  girl,  and  the  first  view  we  got  of  her  was  with 
her  face  all  covered  with  powder,  and  her  body  concealed 
only  by  a  mysterious  white  garment ;  but  when  she  came 
forth  to  greet  us  the  powder  had  been  wiped  off  her  face, 
and  she  was  dressed  in  a  blue  Japanese  silk  trimmed  with 


134  THE  CYCLADES, 

drab  satin  and  cheap  lace.  She  had  an  orange  blossom 
wreath  on  her  head  and  a  veil  over  her  face,  which  she 
raised  as  she  kissed  her  guests  in  turn.  And  then 
she  sat  on  a  divan  with  her  bridesmaid  (KOfiirapa)  on  one 
side,  equally  gay  in  trumpery  European  finery.  Lots 
of  female  guests  were  assembled  now  in  the  cave —  for 
it  was  no  more  or  less  than  a  cave— and  was  getting 
insufferably  hot,  and  the  ordeal  for  me  was  trying,  for  I 
became  conscious  that  only  women  were  admitted  to 
this  part  of  the  ceremony,  and  I  had  seen  more  than  I 
was  intended  to. 

At  length  the  firing  of  guns  from  outside  announced 
the  approach  of  the  bridegroom,  and  the  strains  of 
sabouna  and  syravlion  accompanied  him.  This  firing  of 
guns  and  playing  of  music  are  inseparable  from  a  Greek 
wedding,  so  that  it  has  given  rise  to  that  strange  saying 
when  it  thunders,  *  God  is  marrying  His  Son.' 

When  the  bridegroom  reached  the  doorstep  the 
bridesmaid  met  him  with  a  saucerful  of  honey  and  com- 
fits, and  a  towel.  He  dipped  his  finger  into  the  honey, 
and  made  three  crosses  with  it  on  the  door,  one  on  the 
lintel,  and  one  on  each  post.  After  this  he  ate  a  mouth- 
ful, which  the  bridesmaid  put  into  his  mouth  with  a 
spoon,  wiped  his  fingers  on  the  towel,  and  sank  into  a  re- 
tired corner.  Poor  man  !  he  looked  very  nervous,  and, 
by  the  side  of  his  fine,  tall  bride,  looked  a  miserable 
specimen  of  humanity.  Following  the  bridegroom  came 
the  bride's  father,  our  muleteer,  with  two  priests.  The 
father  had  on  a  bright  yellow  coat  and  a  red  fez  to-day 
in  honour  of  his  daughter's  nuptials ;  we  hardly  recog- 
nised him  as  the  man  who  had  trudged  by  our  side  over 
so  many  miles  of  Santorin.  He  had  just  returned  with 
the  two  priests  and  the  best  man  {KOfiirapos)  from  his 
vineyard,  where  they   had   gathered   the  vine-tendrils, 


SANTORIN  (THERA\  135 


which  were  to  make  the  crowns  for  the  young  couple  ; 
and  now  the  pretty  ceremony  of  making  these  crowns 
began. 

Several  girls  were  called  upon  to  officiate  at  this  :  a 
table  was  put  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  and  a  basket 
on  it  covered  with  a  bright  calico  handkerchief ;  this 
basket  contained  the  materials  for  making  the  crowns. 
First  of  all,  there  were  two  vine-tendrils  twisted  round 
and  round  till  they  formed  a  circle  about  five  inches  in 
diameter ;  on  this  foundation  the  crown-makers  twisted 
cotton,  with  the  husks  and  seeds  still  sticking  to  it.  Over 
that  they  twaned  pink  and  blue  ribbons,  the  ends  of 
which  were  left  to  hang  in  streamers  behind,  and  on 
the  top  of  this  they  fastened  artificial  flowers  with  gold 
thread,  which  also  hung  down  behind. 

As  they  made  the  wreaths  the  maidens,  two  on 
either  side  of  the  table,  sang  songs ;  the  eldest  began 
and  sang  one  verse,  then  another  answered,  and  so  on. 
And  in  these  songs  they  wished  the  young  couple  every 
good  wish,  as  follows :  *  May  holy  Procopius  be  with 
you  to-day.  May  holy  Tryphon  grant  you  a  life  of 
pleasure  and  peace  together.  May  holy  Polycarp  grant 
you  many  teeth  in  your  house.'  Then  another  of  the 
maidens  sang  as  she  works — 

Adorn  the  crowns  with  pearls  and  flowers  ; 

The  bride  and  bridegroom  are  the  moon  and  stars. 

She  is  answered  by  another  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 

table  : — 

The  bride  is  Venice,  and  her  swain 
Is  like  that  city  on  the  main. 

A  third  then  sang  a  couplet : — 

The  bestman,  and  the  bridesmaid,  too, 
Smell  as  Chiote  gardens  do. 


136  THE  CYCLADES. 


The  allusion  to  Venice  is  interesting,  as  proving  how 
the  custom  has  been  handed  down  from  generation  to 
generation,  surviving  the  jealoUsy  of  the  Italians,  and 
Turkish  changes* 

When  the  crowns  were  finished,  and  the  singing  over, 
they  placed  these  symbols  of  matrimony  again  in  the 
basket,  and  handed  them  to  the  priests,  who  headed  the 
procession  to  the  neighbouring  church.  It  was  piercingly 
cold  when  we  came  out  of  the  warm  cave,  and  snow  was 
falling,  but  my  neighbour  pointed  to  it  and  said,  *  This 
is  lucky  *  with  an  emphasis  which  at  first  I  thought  to 
be  intended  for  a  sarcasm,  but  on  reflection  the  Greek 
saying  occurred  to  me,  *  Happy  is  the  bride  that  it  rains 
upon,*  and  if  the  greater  rarity  of  snow  occurs  it  surely 
must  indicate  some  great  good  luck.  We  in  England  have 
chosen  the  sun  as  indicating  prosperity  to  the  bride  ;  in 
Greece  they  have  chosen  rain,  the  result  of  difference  of 
climate,  no  doubt. 

We  went  to  church  two  and  two,  the  priests  leading 
the  way,  then  the  bride  with  the  bestman,  followed  by 
the  bridegroom  and  the  bridesmaid  ;  musicians  playing 
vigorously  brought  up  the  rear.  The  rest  of  the  cere- 
mony is,  of  course,  religious,  and  to  those  who  have  not 
seen  a  Greek  wedding  it  is  odd  enough.  The  altar  was 
placed  in  the  middle  of  the  church,  the  basket  with  the 
crowns  upon  it,  and  before  this  the  wedding  party 
solemnly  stood  in  a  row.  The  chief  priest  then  bound 
the  young  couple's  wrists  with  a  belt  preparatory  to 
reading  the  gospel  and  the  necessary  injunctions.  Then 
they  were  given  candles  to  hold,  and  kissed  the  priest's 
hands  as  they  got  them.  After  this  came  the  ring  cere- 
mony, both  bride  and  bridegroom  being  signed  three 
times  with  the  sign  of  the  cross  with  the  rings  before 
the  priest  put  them  on  their  fingers.    The  bestman  then 


SANTO RIN  (THERA),  137 

changed  them  from  one  hand  to  the  other,  as  an  earnest 
that  each  was  bound  by  the  vows  of  the  other,  and  the 
bridesmaid  changed  them  back.  More  gospel  was  then 
read  before  producing  the  crowns  ;  with  these  the  bride 
and  bridegroom  were  signed  three  times  more  with  the 
sign  of  the  cross  before  they  were  put  on  their  heads, 
and  again,  as  with  the  rings,  the  crowns  were  changed 
from  one  head  to  the  other.  After  this  the  sacramental 
wine  was  administered,  three  sips  each  to  the  young 
couple  and  one  sip  each  to  their  attendants,  and  then 
the  newly  made  man  and  wife,  bridesmaid,  and  best- 
man,  with  the  three  officiating  priests,  joined  hands  and 
literally  danced  the  syrtos  round  the  altar,  quickening 
their  steps  as  the  bystanders  pelted  them,  priests  and 
all,  with  comfits  until  they  winced  again. 

The  last  part  of  the  ceremony  was  a  trying  one  to 
me,  for  it  was  intimated  that  I  must  take  a  part  therein. 
Before  the  altar  stood  man  and  wife,  behind  them  their 
attendants  holding  on  the  crowns  on  the  top  of  their 
heads.  Each  guest  was  expected  to  pass  before  them 
in  turn,  and  administer  a  kiss  first  to  the  bride  and  then 
to  the  bridegroom  ;  my  turn  came  at  last — there  was 
no  escape  for  me. 

After  the  religious  ceremony  was  concluded  we  were 
all  invited  to  return  to  the  house  of  the  bride's  father, 
where  in  the  most  limited  space  possible  they  danced  a 
syrtos  abominably  and  administered  refreshments — divers 
kinds  of  jam,  mastic,  liqueurs,  and  plates  of  honey  and 
almond,  which  last  delicacy  had  to  be  eaten  with  a  knife. 

In  Santorin  they  do  not  keep  up  marriage  festivities 
so  long  as  those  we  saw  at  Sikinos*  or  as  in  Mykonos,  in 
which  island  ten  or  fifteen  days  of  festivity  are  considered 
usual,  and  at  a  peasant  wedding,  which  was  concluded 

»  Vide^,  189. 


138  THE  CYCLADES. 


the  day  we  arrived,  they  told  us  that  no  less  than  twenty 
lambs  had  been  slaughtered,  not  to  mention  other  food. 
But  most  of  the  quaint  old  customs  relative  to  marriage 
in  Greece  have  been  abandoned  for  exactly  the  same 
reason  that  they  are  abandoning  the  costumes — because 
they  are  too  expensive  to  keep  up.  In  Mykonos  they 
still  keep  up  the  custom  of  the  proxenia  ;  the  man  does 
not  propose  in  person,  but,  having  settled  the  prelimi- 
naries to  his  satisfaction,  he  sends  an  old  female  relative 
of  his  to  seek  the  hand  of  the  girl ;  this  old  lady  must 
have  one  stocking  white  and  the  other  brown  or  red. 
In  a  poem  by  Valetta  entitled  the  *  Shepherdess  of 
Mykonos '  this  custom  is  alluded  to  thus  : — 

Your  stockings  of  two  colours  make  me  think 
That  we  shall  have  an  offer. 

If  the  sender  of  the  offer  is  not  *  made  to  eat  gruel,' 
as  the  Greeks  neatly  express  a  refusal,  then  on  the  fol- 
lowing Friday  the  parish  priest  and  the  two  families 
assemble  for  the  discussion  of  the  settlement,  which  is  in 
itself  a  religious  ceremony,  almost  as  impressive  as  the 
marriage  one.  Greek  girls  are  usually  well  endowed, 
for  the  father,  if  he  is  able,  provides  his  daughter  with  a 
house ;  sons  are  not  supposed  to  want  anything,  and 
rarely  inherit  their  father's  home. 

Such  was  our  wedding  at  Santorin ;  from  this  and 
others  I  saw  in  my  travels  through  the  islands  I  cannot 
say  that  I  think  modern  Greek  weddings  deserve  the 
colour  that  has  been  given  to  them  by  various  writers. 
Elaborate  accounts  of  strange  ceremonies  long  obsolete 
are  compiled  and  supposed  to  be  in  use  to-day ;  the  real 
thing  is  quaint  and  pretty  enough  in  itself,  and  requires 
no  romantic  colouring. 

Our  muleteer  was  ready  for  us  next  morning  in  his 


SANTORIN  {THERA),  i39 

plain  clothes,  just  as  if  nothing  had  happened  the  day 
before ;  and  we  started  on  our  longest  expedition  on  the 
island  to  the  south-eastern  end,  where  on  the  slopes  of 
the  limestone  mountain  are  the  chief  remains  of  Grecian 
antiquities.  Our  road  led  us  through  the  large  village 
of  *  great  place '  {fis^aXb  x^pto),  with  evidences  of 
Venetian  splendour,  and  then  on  to  a  spot  called  Empo- 
rion,  which  name  testifies  to  the  trade  that  was  once 
carried  on  here  in  days  now  long  gone  by ;  yet  still  it  is  a 
well-to-do  place,  and  we  were  by  no  means  badly  housed 
with  the  demarch.  At  the  entrance  to  the  village  is  a 
mediaeval  tower,  planted  against  the  mountain  side,  and 
near  it  a  tall,  waving  palm-tree  ;  vineyards  are  all  spread 
around,  and  the  spot  looked  very  picturesque  as  it  climbed 
up  a  cleft  of  the  mountain,  down  which  cleft  during  the 
recent  rains  terrible  torrents  had  poured,  drowning  men 
and  cattle,  and  ruining  houses  and  vineyards  in  'its  rush 
towards  the  sea. 

The  church  of  Emporiin  is  interesting :  four  pillars 
of  an  ancient  temple  stand  in  the  courtyard  outside,  and 
inside  the  pillars  of  the  nave  have  belonged  to  a  Corin- 
thian temple  which  probably  came  from  Eleusis,  the 
city  which  once  stood  near  here,  but  almost  all  the  traces 
of  which  have  been  washed  away  by  encroachments  of 
the  sea.  The  church  bells  were  all  clanging  and  pealing 
that  evening,  for  the  morrow  was  the  day  of  the  Epiphany, 
the  baptism  of  Christ,  the  day  on  which  the  priest  blesses 
water  in  the  church  and  prepares  his  holy  oil,  and  all 
good  people  were  to  be  in  church  by  4  A.M.  It  was  an 
effort,  but  I  was  very  desirous  of  seeing  this  ceremony 
in  this  quaint  old  church,  so  I  arose  in  time,  and  was 
rewarded. 

Very  quaint  indeed  it  looked  as  we  went  out  of  the 
cold  darkness  into  the  brilliantly  lighted  church,  and  saw 


I40  THE  CYC  LADES, 

the  pious  populace  kneeling  all  around  as  the  litany 
was  being  chanted  prior  to  the  blessing  of  the  waters. 
There  was  the  font,  an  ancient  marble  altar  ornamented 
with  garlands  and  rams*  heads,  placed  before  the  picture 
of  the  baptism  of  Christ ;  it  was  full  of  water,  and  illu- 
minated with  candles  stuck  around  the  edge  with  their 
own  grease,  whilst  pots  and  jugs  full  of  water  of  every 
description  covered  the  floor  near  this  font. 

After  the  litany  was  over  the  priest  in  his  gold  bro- 
caded stole  went  around  with  his  cross  and  a  sprig  of 
basil  in  his  hand,  accompanied  by  two  acolytes,  with 
censers,  who  assisted  in  groaning  the  responses.  Every- 
one knelt,  when  the  priest  threw  the  basil  into  the  font, 
read  the  appointed  portion  of  the  Scriptures,  and  signed 
the  water  in  the  font  and  in  the  jugs  with  the  cross. 
No  sooner  was  this  ceremony  over  than  there  was  a 
regular  rush  from  all  sides  with  mugs  and  bottles  to  se- 
cure some  of  this  consecrated  water.  Everybody  laughed 
and  hustled  each  other,  even  the  priest  with  the  cross  in 
his  hand  stood  and  watched  them  with  a  broad  grin 
on  his  face  ;  it  was  a  striking  contrast  to  the  solemnity 
which  had  reigned  a  moment  before.  The  font  was  soon 
emptied  of  its  contents,  and  an  orange  which  had  been 
floating  in  it  was  presented  by  the  priest  to  one  of  his 
acolytes. 

Before  leaving  the  church  with  their  bottle  of  water 
everybody  went  up  to  kiss  the  cross  which  the  priest 
held  and  to  be  sprinkled  with  water  from  the  sprig  of 
basil,  after  which  he  dropped  as  his  exchange  gift  for 
such  favours  a  coin  in  the  plate  held  by  an  acolyte. 
Then  they  dispersed  to  their  homes,  carrying  their  bottle 
of  water  with  them  and  a  sprig  of  basil,  which  the  priest 
had  blessed,  to  hang  up  in  their  homes. 

It  was  a  lovely  warm  day,  for  a  change,  and  we  set 


SANTO RIN  (THERA),  141 


out  on  our  duties  of  seeing  the  ancient  ruins  of  Santorin 
as  soon  as  breakfast  had  restored  us  from  the  fatigues  of 
the  early  mass.  That  evening  found  us  again  at  Phera, 
after  a  hard  day's  work,  amongst  ruins  which  I  will 
describe  in  a  noteJ 

We  reached  our  house  belated  and  drenched  with 
rain  ;  the  lovely  morning  had  been  treacherous  and  our 
paths  were  torrents,  for  the  paths  were  the  beds  of  tor- 
rent. Hitherto  we  had  had  a  contempt  foi*  the  dry  tor- 
rent-beds, but  they  had  at  last  asserted  their  use.  Before 
the  rush  of  the  water  the  stalks  of  the  water  willows* 
(\vyapia)  bent  and  swayed.  Out  of  these  willows  the 
Santoriniotes  make  capital  baskets,  and  drive  a  good 
trade  by  selling  them  to  their  neighbours.  Why  they 
are  more  energetic  than  the  other  islanders  I  cannot  say. 
Barren  and  dry  as  Santorin  looks  by  the  side  of  its 
neighbour  Naxos,  its  inhabitants  are  energetic  and  pro- 
sperous ;  whereas  in  Naxos,  where  nature  has  done  all 
for  them  she  can,  idleness  and  poverty  prevail. 

One  more  journey  remained  for  us,  namely,  an 
expedition  to  the  lost  limb  of  Santorin,  the  island  of 
Therasia — an  expedition  which  will  be  to  me  an  ever- 
memorable  one.  It  was  only  a  short  sail  across  the 
harbour,  an  hour's  run  with  a  good  breeze,  but  our  breeze 
to-day  was  rather  too  good,  and  we  were  drenched  to  the 
skin  before  we  set  foot  on  this  inhospitable  shore. 
Everything  here  is  the  same  as  at  Thera,  only  on  a  smaller 
scale  ;  a  few  boathouses  form  the  port,  a  wretched 
zigzag  path  leads  up  to  the  row  of  white  houses  eight 
hundred  feet  above,  each  with  a  vaulted  roof,  which 
form  the  Chora.     It  was  St  John  the  Baptist's  Day, 

*   Vide  note. 

2  Avyapiii,  or  ApyoXv^,  was  called  \iyoSy  or  &yvos,  by  Dioscurides.    It  is 
agnus  casluSf  osier. 


142  THE  CYC  LADES. 

an  universal  holiday,  for  St.  John  the  Baptist  follows 
next  after  the  Epiphany  in  the  Byzantine  calendar. 
And,  despite  our  drenched  condition  and  the  biting 
north  wind,  we  enjoyed  participating  in  the  blessing  of 
the  sea  which  happened  to  be  taking  place.  Down  the 
zigzag  path  the  procession  wended  its  way,  headed  by 
priests  carrying  crosses,  and  two  acolytes  carrying  lan- 
terns ;  after  them  came  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  town, 
a  hardy  seafaring  race.  On  the  seashore  a  litany  was 
sung,  during  which  all  the  people  knelt  around,  and  with 
his  cross  the  priest  blessed  the  waves  and  then  threw  it 
into  the  sea.  There  was  a  general  scramble  now  to  get 
the  cross,  for  the  man  or  boy  who  secures  it  gets  as  a 
reward  for  facing  the  cold  and  the  wet  some  coppers 
from  the  bystanders,  which  later  in  the  day  will  buy  him 
enough  wine  to  make  him  very  drunk  and  drive  out  the 
chill. 

With  the  crowd  returning  from  their  devotions  we 
climbed  the  hill  and  went  straight  to  the  demarches 
house,  where  breakfast  was  shortly  afterwards  spread  for 
us  according  to  the  abilities  of  our  host ;  hard-boiled  eggs, 
fish,  and  curious  cakes  (^eporia)  made  out  of  flour  and 
oil,  twisted  into  shapes  to  represent  flowers,  baked,  and 
then  covered  with  honey  ;  this  meal  was  quite  as  good 
as  we  could  expect  on  Therasia,  for  the  demarch  him- 
self was  little  better  than  a  labourer.  The  landlords  of 
Therasia  are,  for  the  most  part,  absentees  ;  that  is  to  say, 
they  live  over  at  Epanomerii  or  Pher^,  and  only  their 
inferiors  remain  on  the  spot.  Whilst  we  sat  at  our  meal 
men  came  round  with  dishes  begging  for  a  subscription 
for  a  new  church.  I  asked  them  what  they  could 
want  with  a  new  church  on  an  island  which  had  more 
churches  in  it  than  houses.  They  smiled  and  said  it 
was  a  vow  made  to  St.  Nicholas  in  time  of  storm  ;  and  I 


SANTORIN  {THERA).  143 

thought  how  useful  a  church  had  been  to  us  at  Anaphi 
in  time  of  need,  so  I  gave  them  a  trifle. 

After  breakfast  we  set  off  across  the  island  to  visit 
the  mines,  where  the  best  pumice  stone  is  found  and 
exported,  and  where  the  prehistoric  remains  were  un- 
earthed two  years  ago.  On  our  way  we  passed  through 
Agalict ;  quite  the  quaintest  village  I  ever  saw,  surpass- 
ing even  those  of  Bothr6  and  Gonii,  for  here  the  guUey 
in  the  volcanic  rock  is  extremely  narrow  and  deep,  so 
there  is  no  room  for  gardens  ;  in  fact,  it  is  a  natural 
street  in  which  every  house,  without  one  exception,  is 
hewn  out  of  the  rock ;  here  even  the  church  is  cut  in  the 
rock,  having  only  on  one  side  a  wall,  and  in  a  corner 
has  been  constructed  a  small  bell  tower,  which  is  posi- 
tively the  only  means  by  which  you  can  identify  the 
existence  of  sacred  precincts  ;  until  you  have  entered  the 
guUey  and  walked  up  it  a  little  way  there  is  not  a 
vestige  of  anything  to  lead  one  to  suspect  the  presence 
of  habitations. 

Therasia  is  more  pastoral  than  Thera.  On  the 
southern  slopes  a  good  deal  of  grain  is  grown,  and 
women  with  their  faces  enveloped  in  white  handker- 
chiefs were  tending  their  goats,  walking  about  with 
huge  sacks  on  their  backs  in  search  of  fodder  for  their 
mules.  I  remarked  that  here  nearly  every  woman  wore 
white,  whereas  in  Thera  black  was  the  fashion.  Beyond 
this  point  there  was  nothing  whatsoever  to  lead  us  to 
believe  that  we  were  on  a  different  island. 

On  our  return  to  the  Chora  there  was  not  much  to 
detain  us  at  Therasia — only  the  unpleasant  fact  that 
our  three  sailors,  having  been  too  hospitably  treated  by 
their  hosts,  were  drunk,  two  of  them  hopelessly  so,  and 
loath  to  leave.  In  our  search  for  the  delinquents  we 
entered  into  several  houses,  and  saw  the  good  people 


144  T'^^  CYCLADES. 


all  giving  themselves  up  to  the  delights  of  the  table. 
One  we  entered  consisted  of  only  one  room  with  no 
window,  no  light  except  from  the  door.  There  was 
a  round  table  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  at  which  a 
dozen  men  were  singing  and  roaring  at  the  top  of 
their  voices  round  the  remains  of  their  feast ;  and  as  we 
appeared  at  the  door  the  host  would  not  hear  *  Nay,'  we 
must  drink  to  our  welcome  and  our  happy  return  home. 

All  the  women  stood  meekly  in  a  corner  contemplat- 
ing us  and  their  uproarious  lords.  These  feast  days  in 
modern  Greece  are  regular  symposia :  there  was  the 
board  surrounded  by  men  ;  there  were  the  women  serv- 
ing and  shrinking  from  observation  ;  and  there  was  the 
bard,  who  had  done  his  duty  earlier  in  the  feast  by 
singing  and  playing  the  syravlian  until  he  had  impressed 
music  and  hilarity  into  his  listeners.  These  are  lineal 
descendants  of  the  feasts  of  Dionysia,  at  which  all  got 
drunk,  and  were  held  blameless ;  nay,  even  now  it  is 
thought  a  crime  to  remain  sober  at  these  feasts,  an  in- 
sult to  your  host  As  a  rule,  they  are  not  a  drunken 
race,  but  they  have  a  good  many  exceptional  days,  and 
St.  John  the  Baptist's  Day  is  one  which  proves  this  rule. 

Meanwhile  we  were  very  unhappy  about  our  sailors, 
for  return  to  Thera  we  must  that  evening  to  catch  the 
steamer  on  the  morrow ;  and  the  wind  was  blowing  a 
perfect  hurricane.  We  could  see  little  waterspouts,  or 
syphons,  as  they  pall  them  here,  all  over  the  basin  of 
Santorin ;  they  are  gathered  wreaths  of  spray,  which  the 
sailors  look  upon  with  great  awe,  and  say,  *  The  Lamia  of 
the  sea  is  travelling.'  We,  however,  were  determined  to 
get  across,  and  thought  we  had  as  much  right  to  travel 
as  this  mysterious  personage.  I  could  not  help  admiring 
these  little  whirlwinds  as  they  scudded  along  the  sea, 
resembling  wreaths  of  smoke  issuing  from  a  chimney. 


SANTORIN  (THERA\  145 

To  drive  them  away  the  island  sailors  will  shoot  at  them. 
A  plan  they  have  in  Santorin,  which  is  deemed  most 
effectual,  is  to  thrust  the  point  of  a  knife  into  the  mast. 

Outside  the  harbour  it  was  blowing  a  fearful  hurri- 
cane, a  regular  avs^JLoarpo^oXoSy  as  they  call  it,  caused  by 
demons  rushing  from  place  to  place.  So  associated  in 
these  islands  are  all  horrors  connected  with  the  wind  with 
the  idea  of  demons  that  the  devil  is  often  called  0  avspuos 
(the  wind),  and  old  women  mutter  *  honey  and  milk '  to 
exorcise  these  demons  in  the  air,  as  in  ancient  times  they 
offered  honey  and  milk  to  the  nymphs  who  were  supposed 
to  raise  these  storms.  In  other  places  they  attribute 
storms  to  a  marriage  among  the  Nereids  (17  irofiirr)  twv 
i^epatScov),  and  the  attendant  festivities. 

As  for  ourselves  we  felt  that  we  were  in  danger, 
not  so  much  from  the  demons  of  the  air  as  from  the 
demons  of  the  earth  ;  for  two  of  our  sailors,  a  father  and 
son,  fought  like  demons  in  their  drunken  madness,  biting 
each  other  on  the  cheeks  and  hands  until  the  blood 
gushed  out  on  the  shore.  The  third  sailor  was  not  so 
drunk,  only  furiously  angry  with  his  associates  ;  he  cursed 
them  again  and  again  with  that  effectual  Greek  curse, 
the  <f>daKs\jovy  done  by  shaking  five  fingers  at  the  object 
of  your  imprecation  and  hissing  va  through  your  teeth  : 
it  is  the  most  deadly  insult  you  can  offer  to  a  person, 
and  if  you  dare  not  do  it  to  his  face,  do  it  behind  his 
back,  and  it  will  be  equally  effectual. 

With  great  difficulty  we  got  into  our  boat  and  began 
our  homeward  journey,  and  as  we  rounded  the  point 
which  shelters  the  little  bay  of  Therasia  the  demons  of 
the  air  snatched  our  sail  out  of  the  hands  of  our  soberest 
sailor  and  unshipped  our  rudder,  causing  us  infinite 
trouble  and  danger  of  being  driven  on  the  rocks.  The 
pugnacious  father  and  son  had  to  be  held  at  opposite 

L 


146  THE  CYCLADES. 


ends  of  the  boat  by  our  servant  and  myself  until  kindly 
nature  closed  their  eyes  in  sleep,  and  thus  we  crossed 
over  to  Thera.  It  will  be  long  before  the  adventures  of 
this  voyage  will  be  effaced  from  our  memories,  and  we 
shall  in  future  avoid  a  voyage  in  a  caique  on  the  occasion 
of  a  symposium  in  honour  of  St.  John  the  Baptist 

NOTE  I. 
On  the  Antiquities  of  Santorin, 

There  are  many  interesting  private  collections  of  antiquities 
to  be  seen  at  Santorin.  The  demarch  of  Meroviglia  had  a  quantity 
of  stelcB  and  inscriptions  which  he  had  picked  up  near  his  town  ; 
and  Kyrios  Nomikos,  one  of  the  members  for  the  eparchy  of 
Santorin,  who  married  a  daughter  of  old  Delenda,  a  great  anti- 
quarian, has  got  a  splendid  collection.  One  of  these  interested 
me  especially,  being  a  vase  of  white  marble,  round  the  lip  of  which 
is  an  Ionic  inscription,  proving  that  it  was  an  offering  to  Hecate 
(Cf.  Hesiod,  *  Theo.*  410-450),  just  like  the  vessels  they  present  to 
churches  now,  or  the  plates  of  choice  Rhodian  pottery  which  they 
insert  for  ornaments  in  the  wall. 

But  the  ruins  around  £mpori6n  and  on  Mesa  6oun6  are  the 
chief  objects  of  interest  in  Santorin.  From  £mpori6n  a  long  spur 
of  non-volcanic  rock  runs  out  into  the  sea,  called  the  promontory 
of  Exomytis,  close  under  which  was  the  city  of  Eleusis,  which 
Ptolemaius  names  in  his  list  of  the  towns  of  Santorin,  but  the 
greater  part  of  which  has  now  sunk  into  the  sea.  Along,  and  under 
this  spur,  are  many  interesting  tombs,  and  over  one  of  these  is 
the  celebrated  echendra,  or  serpent  of  Santorin,  with  an  Egyptian 
beard  ;  it  is  five  feet  long,  and  is  carved  so  as  to  look  as  if  it  were 
crawling  along  the  rock.  The  inhabitants  look  upon  it  with  terror, 
and  doubtless  the  proverb,  *  The  serpent  will  eat  up  Santorin,'  comes 
from  this  ;  but  whether  it  alludes  to  the  volcano  or  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  sea  it  is  hard  to  say.  Just  beyond  this  there  is  a 
rock  with  a  flat  space  on  the  top,  and  something  that  resembles  a 
seat  in  the  centre,  not  unlike  the  so-called  seat  of  Homer  on  Chios  ; 
this  possibly  may  have  been  a  place  for  funeral  orations,  as  there 
are  graves  all  around — huge,  massive  graves,  some  of  them  cut 
deep  into  the  rock.    The  remains  of  a  heroon  interested  us  much. 


SANTORIN  {THERA).  147 

being  four  and  a  half  yards  broad  by  nine  yards  long,  with  the 
place  for  the  sarcophagus  opposite  the  entrance.  Now  at  Santorin 
and  Anaphi,  from  numerous  inscriptions,  we  learn  that  it  was  the 
custom  to  make  heroes  of  the  departed,  and  to  build  heroa  in  their 
honour,  especially  if  they  belonged  to  the  family  of  ^Egides.  All 
along  this  *  point  of  the  nose,'  as  it  means  when  translated,  are 
these  graves,  pointing  to  a  wealthy  population  advanced  in  arts ; 
and  on  our  way  back  to  Empori6n  we  visited  a  charming  relic  of  . 
the  past,  namely,  a  tiny  marble  church  dedicated  to  the  *  Marble 
St.  Nicholas.'  This  is  no  more  or  less  than  an  ancient  heroon 
turned  into  a  place  of  Christian  worship ;  it  is  built  entirely  of 
marble,  and  is  nearly  square,  being  four  yards  twenty-three  inches 
by  three  yards  thirty-five  inches.  The  door  on  the  south  side  has 
an  eagle  gable  (acr^ff)  over  it,  and  the  roof  is  made  of  blocks  of 
marble  placed  on  the  bias. 

By  eleven  o'clock  we  were  ready  to  leave  Empori6n,  and  went 
in  the  direction  of  Perissa,  a  spot  which  presumably  derives  its 
name  from  being  the  point  at  which  people  started  to  cross  over  to 
Anaphi.  Just  across  on  the  opposite  shore  of  Anaphi  was  found 
an  inscription,  from  which  we  gather  that  it  was  a  catalogue  of 
lands  given  by  the  owners  to  a  temple  at  Perissa,  and  now  the 
convent  of  Kalamiotissa  belongs  to  the  one  at  Perissa.  Here  Ross 
tells  us  an  amusing  story  of  how  a  monk  wished  to  dig  for  antiqui- 
ties, and  when  Ross  refused  the  monk  had  recourse  to  dreaming  a 
dream  about  a  hidden  picture  \  whereat  the  inhabitants  took  upon 
themselves  to  dig,  and  found  traces  of  ancient  worship,  erected  by 
subscription  the  modem  church,  and  looked  upon  the  monk  with 
veneration  ever  afterwards. 

A  hideous  church  and  convent  now  occupy  the  spot  where  an 
iron  cross  was  supposed  to  have  been  found  during  this  excavation ; 
but  the  sea  is  rapidly  encroaching,  and  will  in  all  probability  wash 
this  all  away  before  the  lapse  of  many  years.  Half  a  century  ago 
the  sea  was  one  hundred  and  seventy  feet  distant  from  this  church, 
now  it  is  only  fifty  feet  off,  and  in  calm  weather  from  a  boat  you 
can  distinctly  see  the  remains  of  an  old  wall  and  the  ruins  of  the 
houses  of  Eleusis  buried  in  the  waves. 

But  one  little  gem  is  still  left  behind  the  modem  church,  being 
a  small  circular  marble  heroon :  it  is  fifty-four  feet  round,  and 
is  raised  on  a  square  basis.  The  roof  was  once  supported  by  a 
central  pillar,  the  base  of  which  is  still  left,  and  round  the  outside 
five  of  the  stones  are  covered  with  inscriptions  late  and  badly  cut ; 

L  2 


J48  THE  CYCLADES. 

all  the  stones  have  a  plain  edging  round  two  sides,  but  they  are 
obviously  not  in  their  Original  places.  Near  the  church  we  saw 
another  stone,  which  evidently  came  from  here,  covered  with 
similar  inscriptions ;  from  these  we  gather  that  colonists  from 
Melos,  Scopelos,  and  other  places  were  interested  in  this  building, 
having  erected  it  probably  in  honour  of  a  departed  member  of  their 
colony  by  contributions  from  various  sources  thereon  enumerated. 
Perissa  is  rich  in  remains  of  the  past  let  into  the  walls  of  the  church 
and  convent  cells. 

On  leaving  the  convent  we  ascended  Mesa  Boun6,  and  visited 
the  ruins  of  an  extensive  town,  which  crowned  the  summit  of  the 
promontory  now  known  as  Mount  St.  Stephen,  which  is  joined  to 
Mount  Prophet  Elias  by  the  col  of  Mesa  Boun6.  Ross  spent  days 
here  investigating  the  ruins,  which  he  believed  to  be  those  of  iCa ; 
but  since  his  day  an  inscription  has  been  found  which  clearly  points 
to  the  town  being  called  Thera,  not  iCa. 

The  little  Church  of  St  Stephen  is  literally  built  out  of  antiqui- 
ties scraped  together  on  his  hill  j  and  soon  after  passing  this  you 
come  across  the  walls,  and  enter  the  precincts  of  the  old  town.  On 
the  smooth  cliff  are  many  of  those  curious  rock  inscriptions,  diffi- 
cult to  decipher  and  still  more  difficult  to  tell  their  purport.  For  the 
most  part  these  consist  of  simple  proper  names  cut  in  the  letters  of 
vastly  different  epochs,  from  those  of  early  Greece  to  those  of  the 
Byzantine  empire.  Separated  from  these  is  the  simple  word 
'Avoyw;  (necessity),  where  probably  once  stood  an  altar  to  Neces- 
sity, such  as  we  see  elsewhere  erected  to  Fear,  Force,  Shame,  &c.^ 
At  Corinth,  too,  was  a  temple  to  Necessity,  which  none  might 
enter. 

The  city  walls  of  Thera  are  a  curious  mixture  of  polygonal  and 
rectangular  stones,  which  look  as  if  both  these  styles  of  architec- 
ture had  been  in  vogue  at  the  same  period.  A  little  church  facing 
west,  and  now  dedicated  to  Christ,  has  been  a  pagan  sanctuary  ; 
over  it  is  an  inscription  now  illegible,  but  from  its  position  we  may 
argue  that  the  temple  was  dedicated  to  some  infernal  god.  Further, 
on  facing  the  south,  is  an  exceedingly  curious  building,  used  now 
as  a  mandra  for  cattle :  it  has  evidently  been  a  temple,  from  its 
foundations,  and  out  of  a  hole  in  the  living  rock  behind  issues  a 
current  of  hot  air ;  the  peasants  call  it  the  fiavrtiov,  or  place  of 
oracle,  and  I  think  they  are  right.  On  one  of  the  jambs  of  the 
entrance  is  the  inscription  0P02  <&IA03PEN02,  and  all  about  this 
spot  are  quantities  of  inscriptions,  votive  tablets,  zx^A  psephistnata. 


SANTORIN  {THERA\  149 

On  the  eastern  side,  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  are  the  remains  of  the 
public  buildings,  now  only  a  waste  of  pillars,  bases*  and  architraves. 
Everything  of  value  has  been  taken  off  by  *  foreign  thieves ' — Orloff, 
Farvel,  Ross,  and  others  all  boast  of  caique-loads  of  treasures 
shipped  from  this  mountain  to  Europe ;  and  if  only  the  Greek 
Government  would  encourage  excavation  caique-loads  might  still  be 
found,  which  could  be  secured  for  the  Athenian  or  local  museums. 

All  down  the  southern  slopes  of  Mesa  Boun6  are  graves,  where 
Ross  found  interesting  stores  of  these  amphora  peculiar  to  Thera, 
with  ornaments,  proving  the  intercourse  between  this  island  and 
Egypt ;  a  subject  which  might  be  pursued  with  advantage,  for 
Thera  would  be  one  of  the  most  likely  islands  for  communication 
with  Egypt,  possessing  so  capacious  a  harbour,  valuable  produc- 
tions of  the  volcanic  soil,  and,  moreover,  being  the  first  island  of  the 
iCgean  Sea  at  which  ships  would  touch. 

Descending  Mesa  Boun6  on  the  north  side  we  passed  numerous 
abandoned  cells,  which  hermits  had  once  occupied,  and  then  came 
down  on  Kamaris,  at  which  spot  the  chief  ruins  seem  to  belong  to 
the  Roman  epoch.  Here,  too,  the  sea  is  encroaching  terribly.  Dr. 
Dekigalla  told  me  that  forty  years  ago  he  had  entered  one  of  the 
caves  or  chambers  (caffiere)  by  the  sea,  from  which  Kamaris  gets 
its  name,  with  dry  feet,  and  had  copied  an  inscription  in  it ;  now 
this  cave  is  some  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea.  At  Kamaris  we 
saw  the  remains  of  a  Roman  temple,  some  statues  of  inferior  work- 
manship, and  the  foundations  of  houses. 


NOTE   II. 
On  the  Prehistoric  Remains  at  Therasia, 

The  mines  of  Therasian  earth,  which  lay  to  the  south  of  Therasia, 
have  been  worked  now  for  several  years,  and  when  the  workmen 
reached  a  depth  of  thirty  feet  from  the  summit,  and  fifty  feet 
inwards,  they  came  upon  the  foundation  of  buildings.  First,  they 
discovered  the  walls  of  two  buildings  resting  on  a  foundation  or 
stratum  of  scoriae,  on  which  the  pumice  stone  (^oTny,  as  they  call  the 
Therasian  earth  here)  had  been  deposited.  This  left  no  doubt  that 
the  building  in  question  had  existed  prior  to  the  eruption  which 
had  covered  Thera  with  pumice.  On  further  clearing  they  dis- 
covered that  these  were  the  walls  of  rooms,  the  floors  of  which 
consisted  of  the  scoriae  rock.    The  largest  of  the  two  dwellings  was 


ISO  THE  CYC  LADES, 

about  twenty-four  feet  from  the  smaller  one,  and  consisted  of  a 
space  divided  into  five  unequal  chambers,  four  of  which  lay  in  a 
row  to  the  north,  whilst  the  fifth  and  largest  faced  south.  It  was 
twenty-four  feet  from  east  to  west,  and  twenty  and  a  quarter  feet 
from  north  to  south,  including  the  hall  to  the  east  and  south.  The 
form  is  a  parallelogram  with  the  angles  slightly  curved,  and  the 
walls  have  apparently  shelved  in  towards  the  roof.  The  walls 
consisted  of  volcanic  stones  stuck  together  with  clay,  and  wooden 
rafters  had  been  let  in  to  form  a  flat  roof,  which  may  have  been 
covered  with  mud,  as  those  in  most  of  the  islands,  for  in  the  refuse 
has  only  been  found  bits  of  charred  wood  and  rubble,  the  charred 
wood  being  so  decayed  that  at  the  slightest  touch  it  crumbled  into 
dust  The  *  finds '  in  the  houses  were  very  interesting — two  tools 
of  obsidian,  one  having  the  shape  of  a  lance  the  other  of  a  saw  or 
toothed  knife,  and  a  ring  of  the  same  material,  with  traces  of  string 
having  been  attached  to  it ;  perhaps  used  in  the  loom,  like  the  rings 
{^apvdia)  they  attach  the  strings  to  to-day ;  two  basins  of  tufa 
stone — one  round,  the  other  elliptical — ^and  two  stones,  evidently 
used  for  grinding  com  ;  quantities  of  pottery,  of  different  forms 
and  shapes,  so  badly  baked  that  most  of  it  crumbled  away ;  but 
they  resembled  strongly  those  which  I  found  in  the  graves  at 
Antiparos,'  having  the  same  vertical  holes  for  suspension,  but 
owing  to  the  dampness  which  had  penetrated  the  pumice  they 
were  in  a  worse  state  of  preservation.  Most  of  these  vases  were 
full  of  edible  material  more  or  less  reduced  to  cinders,  but  it  was 
still  easy  to  recognise  barley,  peas,  anise,  coriander,  sesame,  millet, 
and  a  sort  of  cheese,  which  must  have  closely  resembled  the 
modem  island  production  of  mysethra?  The  skeleton  of  a  sheep, 
and  in  one  of  the  rooms  that  of  a  man,  were  discovered  very  much 
charred.  The  remains  at  Akroteri  are  not  so  old — iron  instruments 
were  found  therein,  and  pottery  of  a  much  more  advanced  age, 
resembling  more  closely  that  found  by  Dr.  Schliemann  at 
Hirsarlih  than  those  things  which  came  from  Antiparos  and 
Therasia,  for  there  are  mde  representations  on  them  of  animal  and 
vegetable  life,  milk  jugs  with  breasts,  and  so  forth,  which  point  to 
a  much  more  recent  period.  Furthermore,  the  remains  of  the 
village  of  Akroteri  are  not  so  deeply  buried  as  those  at  Therasia, 
being  little  more  than  twenty  feet  below  the  surface.  It  is  a 
question  of  great  difficulty  to  chronologically  arrange  this  town — 
geology  can  speak  with  much  greater  certainty  than  archaeology. 
*    F^'dfe  note  on  Antiparos.  •   Vide^^,  155. 


15^ 


CHAPTER  VII 
lOS  (nio). 

Though  we  had  the  very  worst  steamer  of  the 
Hellenic  Company  to  take  us  to  los,  yet  it  was  a 
steamer  that  all  who  travel  thereon  treat  with  respect, 
for  it  was  none  other  than  tfie  Panhellenion,  which  ran 
the  blockade  in  the  late  Cretan  revolution,  and  carried 
assistance  to  the  Greeks  struggling  for  freedom.  A  very 
little  sentiment  of  this  kind  goes  a  long  way  on  a  rolling 
sea,  and,  despite  the  celebrity  of  our  craft,  we  were  thank- 
ful to  leave  her  when  she  entered  the  capacious  harbour 
of  los,  *  Little  Malta,'  as  the  Turks  used  to  call  it,  from 
its  affording  an  excellent  refuge  to  corsairs.  After  the 
gloomy  blackness  of  the  volcanic  rocks  of  Santorin,  and 
the  unnatural  aspect  of  the  place,  los  seemed  a  perfect 
paradise  of  verdure.  There  is  nothing  of  any  extra- 
ordinary beauty  to  be  seen  down  by  the  quay,  but  the 
rocks  are  bold,  the  harbour  fine,  and  the  lower  plain 
bright,  where  flocks  abound  ;  and  the  aspect  is  as  green 
as  in  an  English  valley.  Moreover,  the  inhabitants  of 
los  seem  to  partake  of  the  genial  nature  of  their  soil, 
for  never  in  all  our  wanderings  did  we  meet  with  a 
family  so  genial  and  gay  as  the  Lorenziades.  One 
brother  was  demarch,  another  ex-demarch,  and  a  third 
the  schoolmaster  ;  and  the  ex-demarch  had  three  charm- 
ing daughters — Marousa,  Ekaterina,  and  Callirhoe — who 


152  THE  CYCLADES. 

administered  tenderly  to  our  wants,  and  saw  to  the 
fitting  up  of  an  empty  house  where  we  were  to  sleep 
during  our  stay,  whilst  meals  were  provided  for  us  at 
the  ex-demarch*s  house. 

We  got  some  refreshments  down  at  the  quay,  hard- 
boiled  eggs  and  cold  eel,  whilst  we  awaited  the  arrival 
of  the  demarch,  to  whom  we  had  forwarded  our  letter  of 
introduction,  and  we  thought  much  about  Homer,  and 
wondered  if  he  really  did  die  here.  The  town,  as  usual, 
is  distant  about  twenty  minutes  from  the  harbour  on 
the  hillside,  so  the  demarch  brought  with  him  mule- 
teers to  convey  us  thither,  whose  costume  was  very  pic- 
turesque :  rough  home-spun  coats  and  baggy  trousers, 
which  were  dyed  a  sort  of  tawny  colour,  a  white  knitted 
cap  on  their  heads,  and  on  their  feet  sandals  of  un- 
dressed ox  hide — ^just  a  flat  piece  of  leather  fastened  by 
thongs  to  the  foot — most  comfortable  for  long  moun- 
tain journeys  ;  doubtless  the  same  that  Homer  describes. 

In  their  hands  they  carried  long  sticks  with  iron 
prods  at  the  end  with  which  to  drive  their  mules.  The 
effect  of  this  costume  is  very  good ;  in  fact,  the  pre- 
vailing colour  in  los  is  tawny  brown  for  women  and 
men  alike,  and  it  is  procured  by  dyeing  the  home-spun 
material  in  the  refuse  left  in  the  winepress  after  all  the 
wine  has  been  pressed  out. 

los  is,  as  other  island  towns,  full  of  pigs,  though  of 
late  a  sumptuary  law  has  limited  each  householder  to 
the  maintenance  of  one ;  and  here  perhaps  more  than 
in  other  islands  we  were  struck  by  the  multiplicity  of 
churches — pigs  and  churches  confronted  us  at  every 
turn.  los,  with  scarcely  3,000  inhabitants,  boasts  of  360 
churches,  thirty  of  which  are  in  the  village,  which  is 
called  the  capital ;  the  rest  are  dotted  over  the  island.  At 
Siphnos  they  accounted  for  the  number  of  churches  by 


lOS  (NIO).  153 


asserting  the  piety  of  their  ancestors  ;  here  in  los  they 
told  us  that  when  anybody  had  sinned  greatly,  and 
wished  to  propitiate  the  Deity,  he  built  a  church,  and 
that  all  these  churches  dated  from  those  piratical  days 
when  los  was  *  Little  Malta.' 

Three  gaunt,  ungainly  pigs  ruled  supreme  in  the 
alley  in  which  our  house  was  situated,  and  looked  upon 
our  arrival  as  an  evident  intrusion  ;  and  as  we  watched 
them  from  our  balcony,  and  witnessed  their  choice  of 
food,  our  appetite  for  Greek  bacon  was  not  increased ; 
just  at  the  bottom  of  the  alley  stood  two  churches,  the 
bell  of  which  clanged  perpetually  in  chorus  with  the 
gruntings  of  the  pigs.  Some  of  these  churches  are 
curiously  built,  consisting  almost  entirely  of  a  vaulted 
'dome  over  the  body  of  the  church,  to  which  scarcely 
perceptible  transepts  were  added,  and  a  narrow  porch 
over  which  is  perched  a  thin,  attenuated  bell-tower. 
Each  church  has  a  courtyard  in  front  of  it,  not  unfre- 
quently  sunk  in  the  ground,  and  approached  by  three 
steps,  where  after  festival  sei  vices  the  priests  and  people 
sit  for  gossip  and  the  distribution  of  fcoXKv^a, 

The  three  daughters  of  our  host  looked  well  after 
the  arrangement  of  our  house :  the  bed  had  a  valance 
formed  of  two  rows  of  rich  Greek  lace,  each  row  being 
six  inches  deep ;  the  eikons  in  the  sacred  corner  were 
dusted,  and  before  them  placed  an  incense  vase,  which 
we  were  invited  to  burn  if  we  wished  :  the  marriage 
crowns  in  their  round  gilded  case  looked  most  imposing, 
but  the  basin  and  jug  were  the  most  diminutive  I  ever 
saw.  As  soon  as  we  were  supposed  to  have  rested 
Demarch  Lorenziades  and  his  niece  Marousa  called 
to  see  if  we  should  like  to  go  for  a  walk  of  inspection  ; 
so  accordingly  we  set  off,  and  visited  all  the  points  of 
interest — first  of  all  the  acropolis,  under  which  the  town 


154  THE  CYCLADES. 


nestles,  and  which  was  the  site  of  the  old  Hellenic  town, 
as  is  evinced  by  the  Cyclopean  walls  and  cisterns  ;  but 
the  ruins  of  ancient  los  do  not  lead  one  to  imagine 
that  it  was  a  place  of  great  importance.  There  are  few 
traces  of  marble  remains,  and  the  stone,  being  for  the 
most  part  sandstone,  has  crumbled  away  and  left  but 
little  to  point  out  what  the  buildings  once  were.  Also 
down  by  the  harbour  are  traces  of  towers  and  other 
walls.  In  the  various  churches  that  we  visited  nume- 
rous inscriptions  have  been  collected ;  in  one  of  them 
the  altar  rested  on  a  pillar,  turned  upside  down,  on 
which  was  inscribed  the  particulars  about  a  musical 
contest,  and  evidently  once  supported  a  choragic  monu- 
ment. Another  church  is  constructed  out  of  the  re- 
mains of  a  temple  of  Apollo,  the  god  of  ancient  worship 
here. 

The  demarch  was  proud  of  his  town,  and  would  not 
allow  anything  to  escape  our  notice.  We  were  taken  to 
the  spot  where  fourteen  windmills  run  up  the  hillside, 
from  which  the  best  view  was  to  be  obtained  ;  we  were 
taken  to  the  caf^  and  regaled  with  coffee  and  loukoum  ; 
we  were  taken  to  the  school  and  introduced  to  the 
younger  brother,  the  schoolmaster,  who  was  deep  in 
the  intricacies  of  a  geographical  lesson,  and  made  his 
pupils  point  out  for  our  benefit  the  boundaries,  seas, 
mountains,  and  provinces  of  Greece,  which  they  did 
with  unerring  precision. 

That  evening,  after  a  sociable  dinner,  at  which  fowls 
did  duty  in  every  form,  a  lovely  surprise  was  prepared 
for  us  :  a  woman  of  surpassing  beauty  entered  in  the  cos- 
tume of  los  ;  a  costume  which  is,  alas  !  rare  nowadays. 
The  headgear  was  a  veil  bespattered  with  gold,  with 
streamers  which  hung  down  behind  ;  in  front  of  it  was 
a  sort  of  crown  (KovpXl) ;  the  dress  was  of  green  and 


JOS  {NIO),  155 


gold  brocade.  Over  her  heart  was  what  we  should  call 
a  stomacher,  but  the  Greeks,  in  more  polite  parlance, 
an  iaoKCLphia ;  her  feet  were  in  dainty  little  shoes 
(/covvTovpss),  Nothing  could  look  more  glorious  than 
this  woman,  with  perfect  features,  brilliant  complexion* 
and  rich  dark  hair.  We  stared  at  her  in  mute  admira- 
tion for  some  time,  but  it  was  not  till  next  morning 
that  we  identified  our  host's  daughter  Ekaterina  as  the 
original  of  this  beautiful  apparition.  During  dinner 
she  had  heard  us  talk  of  the  lovely  costumes  we  had 
seen  in  other  islands,  and  she  had  been  determined 
that  her  native  place  should  not  be  behindhand.  The 
effect  of  dress  was  never  more  marked  than  in  her  case ; 
in  her  everyday  dress  she  resembled  a  good-looking 
red-faced  housemaid,  in  her  festival  costume  she  would 
have  graced  a  palace. 

I  OS  is  celebrated  for  its  flocks  and  herds,  and  of  all 
islands  los  is  the  most  celebrated  for  its  mysethra^  *  food 
for  the  gods,'  as  they  call  it.  It  is  simply  a  curd  made 
of  boiled  sheep's  milk,  strained  and  pressed  into  a  wicker 
basket  called  tyrobolon^  just  as  they  are  spoken  of  in 
the  *  Odyssey '  ;  from  this  basket  it  gets  a  pretty  pat- 
tern before  being  turned  out  on  to  a  plate.  When 
eaten  with  honey  it  is  truly  delicious.  I  have  tasted 
the  same  in  Corsica  called  broccio,  but  not  so  good  as 
those  of  los  ;  in  fact,  the  mysethra  of  the  neighbouring 
islands  does  not  approach  that  of  los — there  is  some- 
thing in  the  pasturage  which  produces  the  proper 
flavour.  They  make  mysethra  cakes,  but  they  are 
inferior  to  the  original  thing,  and  the  peasants  most 
frequently  salt  them,  in  which  condition  they  are  per- 
fectly horrid. 

Some  of  this  excellent  mysethra  we  had  for  our 
breakfast  next  morning,  and  some  of  it,  together  with 


156  THE  CYCLADES. 


cold  fish  and  plenty  of  wine,  the  demarch  put  into  a 
basket  for  us  to  take  with  us  on  an  expedition  ;  he  was 
determined  to  accompany  us  himself,  for  he  said  he 
had  never  been  in  that  part  of  the  island  to  which  we 
were  going,  and  he  was  a  very  considerable  weight  for  a 
mule. 

We  were  bound  for  no  less  a  place  than  the  reputed 
tomb  of  Homer,  situated  on  a  distant  promontory  to 
the  north  of  the  island,  three  hours'  ride  from  the  capital, 
and  on  our  way  we  had  ample  opportunity  for  enjoy- 
ing the  beauties  of  los,  and  as  we  passed  through  a 
rich  gorge  full  of  olives,  oleanders,  and  lemons,  the 
ground  studded  with  anemones,  and  distinguished  from 
afar  by  a  huge  umbrella  pine,  we  thought  the  lot  of 
the  lotes  was  preferable  to  that  of  the  inhabitants  of 
volcanic  Santorin.  They  recognise  the  merits  of  this 
spot  by  calling  it  *  the  garden,'  and  there  are  one  or  two 
little  villas  hidden  away  in  the  vegetation  which  must 
be  delicious  retreats  in  the  summer  heats.  It  was  a 
lovely  day,  and  when  we  reached  the  wretched  hamlet 
of  Plaketos,  close  to  which  Homer's  grave  is  said  to 
be,  the  midday  sun  was  almost  too  hot 

I  always  shall  envy  the  imagination  of  Count  Pasch 
van  Krienen,  who  took  upon  himself  the  glory  of  having 
opened  the  tomb  of  the  immortal  poet,  and  of  having 
looked  upon  his  mortal  remains  as  they  crumbled  into 
dust  on  exposure  to  the  air.  Before  this  imagination 
pales  every  other,  even  that  which  proposes  to  have 
opened  the  grave  of  Agamemnon,  and  disclosed  the 
halls  of  Ilium.  Count  Pasch  had,  however,  a  great  deal 
to  go  upon  ;  he  had  read  his  Herodotus,  and  believed 
that  Homer,  on  his  way  from  Samos  to  Athens,  died  at 
los,  and  must  necessarily  have  been  buried.  Further- 
more, ships  bound  from  Samos  to  Athens  do  still  pass 


lOS  (JV/0).  157 


along  the  north  coast  of  losj-and  if  there  is  a  southern 
gale  they  will  shelter  for  days  in  the  little  harbour  below 
Plaketos.  There  are  traces  of  a  round  Hellenic  watch- 
tower,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  are  scattered  many  graves. 
Several  of  these  Count  Pasch  opened,  and  one  he  decided 
to  be  the  grave  of  Homer  because  he  found  a  coin  in  it 
with  something  like  0MHP02  upon  it.  Perhaps  the 
next  grave  which  is  just  like  it—  a  long  ordinary  tomb 
— he  considered  as  the  resting  place  of  Homer's  mother. 
Who  knows  ? 

Tradition  from  earliest  times  has  honoured  los  as 
the  burial-place  of  Homer.  Pliny  calls  los  *  Homeri 
sepulchro  veneranda,'  and  there  exists  still  a  modern 
legend,  which  looks  as  if  it  owed  its  origin  to  Homer's 
story  : — *  Once  upon  a  time  there  lived  at  Plaketos  an 
old  woman  and  her  son  in  a  little  cottage ;  robbers 
penetrated  one  night  'into  it,  strangled  the  mother  and 
gouged  out  the  eyes  of  her  son.  When  they  had  gone 
the  son  buried  his  mother,  and  set  off  to  wander  through 
the  archipelago,  singing  songs  to  earn  his  bread  as  he  tra- 
velled— songs  which  were  even  better  than  those  of  Riga, 
and  which  gained  for  him  great  fame.  Eventually  he 
returned  to  los  to  die,  and  was  buried  near  his  mother.* 

I  wonder  whether  Count  Pasch  ever  heard  this 
legend  ?  He  would  have  been  delighted  with  it  if  he 
had  ;  at  any  rate,  he  got  hold  of  a  marble  slab  which 
was  before  the  Church  of  St.  Catharine,  and  which  tra- 
dition said  came  from  the  grave  of  Homer.  On  this  he 
thought  he  detected  letters  which  looked  suspiciously 
like  Homer's  name,  and  on  these  grounds  he  started  to 
dig,  and  astonished  the  literary  world  a  hundred  years 
ago  by  his  reported  discovery. 

We  did  not  stay  very  long  at  the  tower  or  the  tombs, 
but  returned  to  Plaketos,  where  some  twenty  hovels 


158  THE  CYCLADES. 


form  a  little  colony  celebrated  for  its  honey  productions. 
Several  of  the  houses  are  storehouses  full  of  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  soil,  and  large  jars  {^iWot)  in  which  the 
bees  have  made  their  honey.     Hardly  anyone  lives  here 
in  winter,  except  an  old  man,  who  said  he  was  eighty,  but 
did  not  look  or  act  as  if  he  was  sixty.     He  boasted  of 
having  shown  King  Otho  and  Queen  Amalia  the  tomb 
of   Homer,  and   the  demarch  invited  him  to  join  our 
repast,  constantly  filled  his  gourd  with  wine,  and  made 
him  very  merry.    The  poor  old  man  sang  with  wonderful 
vigour  for  his  years,  and  on  rising  to  go  came  down 
with  such  a  crack  on  a  stone  with  his  skull  that  we 
thought  he  must  be  killed,  but  he  was  up  again  in  no 
time,  sobered  somewhat,  and  not  so  gay.     I  never  saw  a 
more  miserable  hovel  than  his  house  :  it  was  exceedingly 
low,  so  that  a  tall  person  could  not  stand  upright ;  the 
window  was  merely  the  absence  of  a  stone  in  the  wall ; 
the  door  four  feet  high  ;  the  bed  simply  a  collection  of 
stones  on  which  were  placed  boards  and  dried  grass, 
and  twigs  on  the  top  of  that.     Implements  of  husbandry 
impeded  progress  at  every  step ;  the  only  seats  were 
stones  ;  people  who  can  live  to  be  eighty  in  places  like 
this  must  indeed  be  hardy.     As  for  our  old  friend,  they 
told  us  he  was  so  devoted  to  the  spot  that  he  could 
never  be  persuaded  to  join  his  family  in  their  winter 
migration  to  a  more  comfortable  house  in  the  Chora. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  wine  we  had  brought  with 
us  everybody  grew  gay — the  muleteers,  the  old  man,, 
and  the  demarch — and  on  a  little  open  space  outside 
the  hovel  they  began  to  play  some  of  their  wild  island 
games,  which  interested  us  exceedingly,  and  in  which 
they  were  joined  by  field  labourers  from  Plaketos. 

*  Wine  '  (xpaa-ly  as  they  call  it)  is  a  really  savage  game : 
one  man  sits  in  the  middle  of  his  fellow-players  with  a 


lOS  (N/0).  159 


long  rope  in  his  hand,  the  other  end  of  which  is  held  by 
another  player ;  the  game  is  for  the  rest  to  try  to  smack 
the  man  who  is  sitting  down  as  hard  as  they  can  with 
their  hands,  and  say  Kpaal,  whilst  the  other  man  runs 
about  and  protects  the  sitter,  giving  his  assailants  sharp 
cuts  with  the  rope  if  he  can  get  at  them.  In  this  game 
really  serious  blows  were  given  and  received  with  great 
good-humour. 

They  next  played  a  game  called  *  first  and  second 
olive,'  being  an  intricate  and  acrobatical  form  of  leap- 
frog :  one  man  knelt  on  the  ground,  two  others  leant 
against  him  for  support,  and  then  the  players  followed 
in  succession  ;  including  the  old  man  and  the  demarch, 
there  were  seven.  *  First  olive'  simply  sang  out  his 
name,  bounded  forward,  rested  his  hands  on  the  shoulder 
of  the  frog,  or  rather  beast  of  burden  (fSoi/,  as  they  call 
him  here),  turned  a  somersault,  and  lighted  on  his  feet 
on  the  other  side.  The  demarch  was  second  olive,  and 
shouted,*  Second  olive  with  its  branches,'  before  modestly 
leaping  after  our  fashion,  for  he  was  too  bulky  for  the 
somersault.  *  Third  olive  is  in  the  air,'  shouted  the 
old  man  who  came  next,  and  followed  the  demarch's 
modest  example.  FouFth  olive  was  an  active  muleteer  ; 
his  password  was,  *  The  fourth  who  misses  falls  ; '  and  he 
did  the  correct  somersault,  as  did  also  fifth,  sixth,  and 
seventh  olive,  who  shouted  before  leaping  respectively, 
*  To  the  good  ass  who  is  behind  ;'  *  Let  us  put  on  the 
saddle,  let  us  fetch  wood;'  *  That  we  may  roast  the 
lamb  on  Easter  day.'  When  there  are  more  players  on 
a  feast  day  they  have  more  sayings,  which  each  man 
has  to  say  before  leaping.  Even  when  there  are  twenty, 
each  man  knows  his  place  and  his  password. 

*The  priest '(0  irairas)  is  another  rough  game  of  the 
same  nature,  which  was  next  played.     Four  men  stood 


i6o  THE  CYCLADES, 


with  their  arms  linked  together,  and  moved  round  and 
round ;  whilst  they  moved  thus  the  others  tried  to  jump 
on  their  backs.  He  who  succeeded  took  the  place  of 
one  of  the  four,  he  who  did  not  had  to  receive  a  cut  on 
his  back  from  a  rope  which  *  the  priest,'  a  sort  of  umpire, 
held  in  his  hand  for  administering  justice. 

After  amusing  themselves  for  some  time  with  these 
games  it  was  suggested  that  a  start  homewards  had 
better  be  made,  as  the  days  were  not  too  long ;  and  on 
our  way  we  passed  through  what  is  called  the  upper 
plain  of  los,  which  is  a  fertile  plateau,  some  300  feet 
above  the  lower  plain  by  the  sea-level,  and  in  the  centre 
of  which  is  the  foundation  of  a  fine  square  Hellenic 
watch-tower,  nine  yards  and  three  quarters  long  by  nine, 
built  with  very  long  narrow  stones — one  of  which  I  mea- 
sured was  three  yards  seven  inches  long  and  only  eight 
and  a  half  thick.  This  tower  is  now  used  as  a  stable, 
and  on  the  top  of  it  has  been  built  a  cottage ;  the  old 
doorway  is  still  there,  and  the  holes  visible  into  which  the 
bolts  once  fitted.  All  the  stones  are  rounded  at  the  edge, 
and  the  place  is  substantially  and  well  built ;  evidently 
for  the  purpose  of  protecting  this  fertile  plain. 

We  were  on  most  friendly  terms  this  second  evening 
with  our  hosts,  whose  object  seemed  to  be  to  do  ever}i;hing 
to  make  us  comfortable.  At  our  meal  a  luscious  kid  took 
the  place  of  the  fowls,  and  during  dinner  our  conversation 
turned  on  local  customs,  which  interested  us  exceedingly. 
The  fair  young  ladies  of  the  house  knew  a  great  deal 
about  certain  ceremonies  annually  performed  on  the 
eve  of  June  23,  the  vigil  of  St  John  the  Baptist's 
nativity,  and  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  a/c\?ySoi/e*. 
They  were  rather  shy  at  telling  their  secrets  at  first,  but 
Marousa  was  not  a  girl  to  remain  shy  long ;  and,  seeing 
the  interest  we  expressed  in  the  subject,  she  soon  con- 


lOS  {N/0).  i6i 


sented  to  disclose  the  divinations  which  she  and  her 
sisters  used  to  foretell  the  husbands  that  will  fall  to  their 
lot. 

Marousa  and  her  sisters  were  such  comely  damsels 
that  I  expressed  surprise  that  they  should  ever  have  had 
occasion  to  consult  the  oracle  about  their  future  lot, 
whereat  they  laughed  and  explained  that  in  los  there 
were  so  few  young  men,  but  Marousa  prophesied  great 
things  from  a  prospective  visit  to  Athens,  which  had 
been  promised  her.  She  really  was  a  pattern  of  life  and 
spirits  in  this  far-off  island,  where  life  not  gifted  with 
natural  buoyancy  must  be  fearfully  dreary,  for  unless  you 
can,  as  the  Greeks  say,  *  skip  with  the  lambs  and  play 
with  the  kids,'  your  chance  of  amusement  is  small. 

Marousa  began  her  story : — 

*  First  of  all  you  must  take  an  unused  jar,  and  you 
,must  send  a  girl  to  fill  it  at  the  well,  with  strict  injunc- 
tions not  to  speak  to  anyone  she  meets.  Into  this  jar 
we  sisters  and  our  friends  each  put  something  (aK\i]Bova) 
— an  apple,  a  ring,  a  pin,  and  so  forth — each  being  careful 
to  remember  the  article  that  she  has  put  in.  Then  we 
cover  up  the  jar  with  a  red  cloak,  and  leave  it  out  in 
the  air  all  night,  that  it  may  see  the  stars,  as  the  saying 
goes. 

*  Often,'  and  here  Marousa  and  her  sisters  roared 
with  laughter,  *  the  young  men  watch  where  we  put  our 
jar,  and  steal  the  contents,  so  that  we  lose  our  trinkets 
and  our  chance  of  recognising  our  husband  both  at 
the  same  time,  and  we  daren't  tell  for  fear  of  being 
laughed  at' 

*  But  when  no  one  finds  our  jar  we  girls  bring  it  in 
next  morning,  put  it  on  a  table,  and  sing  the  following 
song  as  we  crowd  round  it : — 

M 


i62  7HE  CYCLADES, 


*  O  holy  John  !  the  foreranner,  the  baptizer  of  our  Lord, 
Guard  my  love  from  every  woe,  and  let  his  name  be  known. 
O  holy  John  !  disclose  to-day,  whoever  he  may  be. 
Who  loves  me,  who  will  come  for  me,  and  take  me  to  his  home. 

*  After  singing  this  we  remove  the  red  cloth,  and  a 
child  draws  out  the  things  one  by  one  which  we  have 
deposited  in  the  jar,  and  between  each  drawing  we  sing 
again,  promising  to  adorn  the  church  of  St.  John  with  a 
votive  offering  and  so  forth  if  he  tells  us  true.  When 
the  vase  is  emptied  of  these  things  each  of  us  girls  pours 
a  little  of  the  water  into  her  shoe,  and  goes  out  into  the 
street,  and  the  first  name  she  hears  called  by  a  child  or 
anyone,  such  as  Andronico,  Themistocles,  and  so  forth,  is 
to  be  the  name  of  her  future  husband. 

*  Then  we  have  another  plan  :  we  pour  the  remainder 
of  the  water  into  glass  phials,  and  cast  into  it  the  white 
of  an  ^%^^  which  forthwith  forms  different  sorts  of 
clouds  in  the  water.  These  clouds,  according  to  the 
fancy  of  each  of  us,  take  the  form  of  the  man  who  is  to 
be  our  husband.  If  he  is  to  be  an  educated  man  he  will 
have  a  book  or  letter  near  him,  if  he  is  to  be  a  sailor  he 
will  resemble  a  man  holding  a  helm  or  an  anchor,  and  if 
a  shepherd  he  will  be  playing  the  sabouna  or  syravlioriy 
and  so  on.' 

Here  Marousa  paused,  and  Ekaterina  took  up  her 
parable  : — *  But  we  are  not  only  content  with  knowing  the 
name  of  our  future  husband,  and  what  his  occupation  is, 
but  we  want  to  know  the  date  of  our  wedding,  and  to  do 
this  we  take  an  acanthus  branch,  bum  it  in  the  candle, 
and  expose  it  to  the  dew  of  the  night ;  if  it  blossoms 
forth  again  in  one  night,  as  it  sometimes,  though  rarely, 
does,  the  happy  girl  will  be  married  before  the  year  is 
out,  and  by  the  number  of  nights  it  takes  to  blossom  we 
count  the  number  of  years  that  will  elapse  before  our 


lOS  (N/0).  163 


marriage.  Sometimes  here  in  los  it  never  blossoms  at  all, 
she  added  coyly,  *  for  there  are  so  few  young  men  in  the 
place.'  So  we  wound  up  this  interesting  conversation  by 
promising  to  let  their  distress  be  known  in  England,  and 
recommending  them  to  wear  the  lovely  costume  which  we 
had  seen  the  night  before  if  they  wished  to  captivate,  like 
the  maid  of  Athens,  susceptible  travellers  from  the  north. 

It  is  curious  that  this  day  of  St  John,  the  summer 
solstice,  should  be  treated  similarly  by  devotees  of  both 
the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches.  Everywhere  they 
light  the  fires  of  St.  John,  round  which  Greeks,  as  well 
as  Norwegians,  dance  and  amuse  themselves.  In  Ireland 
the  girls  make  dumb  cakes,  that  is  to  say,  without  speak- 
ing, and  sleep  on  them  when  they  wish  to  dream  of  their 
lovers  :  this  is  closely  akin  to  an  Eastern  aK\i]Bova, 

On  the  following  morning  we  had  another  expedition 
to  make,  and  the  demarch,  who  had  work  to  do,  could 
not  accompany  us,  and  accordingly  made  his  niece 
Marousa  mount  her  mule  to  do  the  honours .  of  her 
island.  We  were  to  visit  the  old  Prankish  town  Palaeo- 
castro,  as  it  is  called,  and  our  road  led  along  rugged 
mountain  sides  and  up  steep  cliffs  ;  these  Marousa  pre- 
ferred to  ascend  on  foot,  for  she  remembered  a  priest 
whose  mule  had  slipped,  and  given  him  an  awkward  fall 
as  he  was  returning  from  the  annual  feast. 

The  fortress  and  the  ruined  town  are  built  on  the 
summit  of  a  white  marble  mountain,  which  commands 
the  north-west  passage  between  los  and  Naxos;  and 
the  houses  of  the  town  and  the  walls  are  all  built  of  this 
marble — loose,  unshaped  stones  stuck  together  with  a 
strong  cement  of  lime  and  sand— so  that  many  roofless 
houses  were  still  standing,  and  the  brilliant  whiteness  of 
the  place  was  quite  dazzling  in  the  bright  sunshine.  In 
the  middle  of  the  ruins  was  constructed  a  small  white 

M  2 


i64  THE  CYCLADES. 


church,  which  is  the  special  property  of  the  Lorenziades 
family ;  and  here  on  September  4,  the  Virgin's  birth- 
day, they  have  a  family  panegyris.     Each  member  of 
this  family — cousins,  uncles,  aunts — all  who  can  manage 
a  six  hours'  mule  ride  go  and  worship  here  on  that  day, 
on  which  the  population  of  los  go  to  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Theodote,  in  the  valley  below,  to  celebrate  their 
festival.     We  entered  the  family  church  with  Marousa, 
who  did  her  pious  duty  of  incensing  the  pictures  and 
lighting  a  lamp,  chatting  to  us  and  crossing  herself  as 
she  did  so,  in  anything  but  what  we  should  call  a  solemn 
frame  of  mind ;  finally  she  made  us  scribble  our  names 
on  the  wall  and  on  the  tempelon  in  Greek  and  English, 
which  appeared  to  us  both  irreverent  and  vulgar  ;  but  we 
thought  what  a  pleasure  it  would  be  to  the  family  next 
feast  day  to  see  these  scribblings  of  ours,  so  we  did  as 
we  were  bid. 

Close  to  this  old  town  19  a  marble  quarry  lately 
started  by  a  modest  but  impecunious  Greek  company  ; 
the  marble  is  inferior  to  that  of  Paros  and  Pentelicus, 
and  it  seems  doubtful  if  it  will  answer  as  a  marketable 
commodity  in  a  country  where  marble  is  so  common. 

We  ate  our  midday  meal  under  a  wide-spreading 
plane  tree  down  in  the  valley,  and  then  went  to  visit 
some  tombs  and  vaulted  chambers,  evincing  the  existence 
of  a  considerable  Roman  colony  here  in  former  years  ; 
and  then  Marousa  took  us  to  see  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Theodote,  the  scene  of  the  great  annual  gathering 
of  the  inhabitants  of  los.  The  building  is  a  large 
Byzantine  church,  with  a  great  dome  over  the  body  of 
the  church  and  a  smaller  one  over  the  apse.  There  are 
two  narrow  transepts  on  the  north  and  south,  and 
inside  the  northern  one  was  a  low  stone  bench,  with  seats 
on  either  sides,  at  which  on  the  feast  days  the  worshippers 


lOS  (N/O).  165 

have  their  common  meal  under  the  very  eyes  of  their 
patron  saint  When  hearing  of  these  island  festivals 
one's  thoughts  involuntarily  travel  back  to  remote 
antiquity.  There  are  some  half-dozen  cauldrons  piled 
in  one  comer  of  the  church,  and  large  wooden  spoons 
with  which  to  stir  the  contents.  Every  pilgrim  to  the 
festival  produces  something  towards  this  meal :  the  well- 
to-do  will  bring  a  lamb  or  a  goat ;  the  poor,  rice,  olives, 
and  wine.  Everything  is  then  common  property,  and  in 
picturesque  groups  outside  the  church  they  cook  their 
food  ;  into  one  cauldron  is  cast  the  lamb,  into  another 
the  goat,  into  another  the  rice:,  and  the  fragrance  of  the 
meal  ascends  in  wreaths  of  smoke  towards  the  blue 
heavens.  There  is  something  patriarchal  in  a  scene  like 
this. 

The  men,  whilst  their  wives  are  engaged  in  tending 
the  pots,  indulge  in  their  rough  games  on  the  little  plat- 
form before  the  church — those  rough  games  which  we  had 
seen  our  muleteers  play  the  day  before.  All  is  convivi- 
ality and  joy.  It  makes  no  difference  to  their  mirth 
at  table  that  they  are  taking  their  food  inside  a  sacred 
edifice  ;  they  laugh,  sing,  and  chat,  and  then,  when  they 
have  eaten  their  fill,  they  play  milder  games,  in  which 
the  women  can  take  a  part,  within  the  church. 

'  We  always  come  round  here  in  the  afternoon,'  said 
Marousa  Lorenziades,  'when  we  have  had  our  own  family 
panegyris,  and  play  games  with  the  people.'  They  are 
simple-minded  folks,  the  men  of  los,  with  no  class  dis- 
tinctions. Marousa  laughed  and  chatted  with  her  mule- 
teer all  the  way,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  hers  was  the 
first  family  of  los  and  he  was  an  unkempt  yokel. 

As  evening  comes  on,  after  these  festivals  at  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Theodote,  they  dance  and  play  in 
front  of  the  church,  and  do  not  return  home  till  well  on 


i66  THE  CYC  LADES. 


in  the  night,  wearied  with  their  gaiety,  and  saying,  *  Till 
next  year  *  to  one  another  as  they  part 

After  dinner  that  evening  the  Lorenziades  had  invited 
a  large  party  of  lotes  to  meet  and  entertain  us.  So  after 
the  meal  was  cleared  away,  which  to-night  consisted  only 
of  different  kinds  of  fish  and  mysethra^  the  guests  trooped 
in  and  were  formally  introduced  to  us.  Marousa  and 
her  sisters  had  arranged  everything  for  our  benefit  to- 
night. Instead  of  dancing,  the  usual  amusement  at  these 
gatherings,  they  were  to  play  games  such  as  they  usually 
play  on  the  annual  feast-day  at  the  Church  of  the  Holy 
Theodote ;  and  before  the  evening  was  over  we  saw  at 
least  a  dozen  of  them,  many  of  them  easily  learnt,  and  in 
which  we  could  take  a  part  without  conspicuously  dis- 
gracing ourselves. 

*  You  see,*  said  the  demarch  apologetically,  *  we  have 
no  theatres  here,  no  amusements,  such  as  you  are  accus- 
tomed to ;  so  in  winter  evenings  and  on  festival  days  we 
play  the  old  games  which  we  have  learnt  from  our  fathers.* 
And  he  assured  me  that  every  game  we  saw  that  night 
had  been  played  by  the  lotes  from  generation  to  genera- 
tion ;  none  of  them  had  been  borrowed  from  abroad  ;  for 
from  the  similarity  of  some  of  them  to  our  own  homely 
games  I  almost  felt  as  if  they  had  been  transplanted 
from  English  soil. 

The  first  game  they  played  was  a  species  of  blind 
man's  buff  (Tv<f>\ofila).  A  victim  was  selected,  blind- 
folded, and  given  a  stick  to  hold  in  his  hand.  Then  the 
players  joined  hands  and  danced  round  him,  singing  as 
they  went.  At  last  the  blind  man  touched  one  of  them 
on  the  shoulder  with  his  stick,  and  put  one  end  of  the 
stick  to  his  ear ;  then  the  individual  thus  called  upon 
whistled  at  the  other  end  of  the  stick,  and  from  this 
whistle  the  blind  man  had  to  divine  whom  he  had  touched. 


lOS  {N/0),  167 


Then  we  had  hunt  the  ring  and  puss  in  the  corner, 
both  vastly  improved  by  the  singing,  which  is  a  neces- 
sary adjunct  to  all  these  games  in  Greece.  They  all 
seem  to  know  part-songs,  suited  to  each  occasion,  and 
verses  answering  one  another,  which  they  sing  with  con- 
siderable pathos,  and  thereby  elevate  the  game  from  a 
mere  romp  to  a  musical  entertainment. 

The  demarch  was  expressly  fetched  now  to  take  part 
in  a  game  of  a  more  imposing  character  called  the  con- 
fessional (i^ofio\6yri<rcs).  An  Eastern  carpet  was  laid 
on  the  floor,  and  a  pillow  was  placed  upon  it,  on  which 
Demarch  Lorenziades  solemnly  knelt  down ;  then  a  large 
sheet  was  put  over  his  head,  and  the  confession  began. 
The  first  confessor  was  his  niece  Marousa,  who  knelt 
before  him,  and  the  sheet  was  thrown  over  her  head,  too. 
From  under  the  sheet  we  heard  the  demarches  stento- 
rian voice  say,  *  What  have  you  to  confess,  my  child  ? ' 
In  reply  she  mentioned  some  trivial  offence,  and  the 
demarch  gave  her  as  penance  to  kneel  for  five  minutes 
in  a  corner.  Two  or  three  others  then  followed.  At 
length  an  unsuspecting  damsel  came  to  confess.  *  What 
have  you  done  wrong  ? '  asked  the  demarch.  *  Nothing !  ' 
was  the  reply ;  when  suddenly  the  demarch  glided  back- 
wards from  off  the  carpet,  and  from  under  the  sheet,  and 
four  men  rushed  forward,  seized  the  four  ends  of  the 
carpet,  and  mercilessly  tossed  the  poor  girl,  still  enveloped 
in  the  sheet,  to  the  exceeding  delight  of  all  around. 

*  This  is  one  of  our  favourite  games  at  the  panegyris,' 
said  Marousa ;  and  I  could  not  help  thinking  .that  if 
games  must  be  played  at  a  church  this  was  a  very  suit- 
able one,  having  a  moral  attached. 

After  this  we  had  a  vindictive  game  called  *the 
president'  (o  irposBpos).  A  chosen  one  was  placed  in  the 
middle  of  the  room  on  a  chair,  holding  in  her  hand  a 


i68  THE  CYCLADES. 


knotted  handkerchief.  All  the  players  were  seated 
around,  pretending  to  be  busily  engaged  ;  one  said  she 
was  busy  knitting,  another  she  was  grinding  coffee,  and 
so  on,  and  all  imitating  the  motions.  At  length  one 
jumped  up,  walked  to  the  president,  and,  with  an  obse- 
quious bow,  said,  *  Mr.  President,  Miss  Ekaterina  is  idle ; 
she  is  not  grinding  coffee.*  If  the  president  considered 
the  plaint  a  just  one  the  handkerchief  was  given  to  the 
plaintiff,  with  orders  to  administer  to  the  culprit  a  verdict 
of  stripes ;  if,  on  the  contrary,  she  deemed  it  frivolous 
the  plaintiff  received  stripes  from  the  president,  and 
returned  crestfallen  to  his  seat  The  success  of  this 
game  depended  entirely  on  the  genius  of  the  players  ; 
some  of  them  invented  ridiculous  complaints,  which  con- 
vulsed the  whole  company  with  laughter,  and  many  of 
the  personal  hits  were  lost  upon  us,  not  knowing  the 
secrets  of  the  inner  circle  ;  yet  it  gave  us  a  good  insight 
into  Greek  character,  which  in  many  cases  was  marked 
by  great  originality  and  wit,  excessive  good  humour,  and 
quickness  of  repartee. 

A  wilder  game,  and  one  which  we  thought  more  suit- 
able for  the  male  sex,  next  took  place.  It  was  called  the 
'bad  companions'  {oi  KaKol  arvvTpo<f>oL),  The  Eastern 
carpet  was  again  spread,  and  two  pillows  were  put  upon 
it,  and  two  females  laid  down,  as  if  in  bed,  with  their 
faces  on  the  pillow,  and  the  sheet  cast  over  them,  heads 
and  all.  The  players,  each  armed  with  a  knotted  hand- 
kerchief, danced  and  sang  around  the  reposers,  and  in 
turns  caught  them  severe  cuts  on  the  back  with  the  knotted 
handkerchief,  saying,  *  Who  has  hit  you  ? '  and  in  reply 
came  a  groan  from  under  the  sheet,  *  Companion  So-and- 
so,'  until  the  right  name  was  guessed. 

Several  other  games  of  a  like  nature  were  played 
before  we  retired  to  rest.   Whilst  on  the  subject  of  games 


lOS  (N/0).  169 


I  will  just  allude  here  to  another  island  game  I  once 
saw,  called  <T<f>aipa,  or  ball,  which  bears  a  closer  relation- 
ship to  cricket  than  anything  I  ever  saw  out  of  England. 
Instead  of  a  bat  the  hand  is  used,  and  instead  of  wickets 
a  stone  is  set  up.  There  are  five  on  each  side ;  one  is  at 
the  stone,  four  are  doing  nothing,  the  remaining  five  are 
fielding.  If  the  player  hits  the  ball  to  a  certain  distance 
he  counts  one,  but  does  not  run  ;  if  the  ball  is  caught  or 
if  it  hits  the  stone  his  innings  are  over.  This  game,  I 
was  assured,  has  been  played  in  Greece  as  far  back  as  the 
memory  of  the  oldest  inhabitant  can  go,  and,  no  doubt, 
much  longer;  it  is  obvious  that  it  was  not  borrowed 
from  us.  Did  we  take  our  idea  from  them  ;  or  will  the 
minds  of  men  intent  on  sport  produce  the  same  results 
in  different  parts  of  the  globe  ? 

Next  morning  our  stay  at  los  came  to  a  close.  The 
Lorenziades  pressed  us  to  remain  for  a  wedding,  but  the 
wind  was  favourable  for  Sikinos,  so  we  regretfully  bade 
them  farewell.  Marousa  came  with  a  lovely  piece  of 
red  Cretan  embroider}'^  as  a  present,  and  her  handkerchief 
full  of  pine  nuts,  that  we  might  never  forget  her ;  Callir- 
hoe  gave  us  her  pocket  handkerchief  full  of  sesame  seeds ; 
and  Ekaterina  wrote  a  touching  little  poem  with  the 
same  intent.  The  three  brothers  and  the  three  girls  went 
down  with  us  to  the  harbour,  where  our  boat  was  wait- 
ing, bringing  with  them  a  fresh  mysethra^  wine,  and  figs 
for  our  journey.  They  taught  us  to  improve  the  wretched 
little  wizen  figs  of  the  islands  by  the  introduction  of 
sesame  seeds,  for  which  plan  we  were  grateful ;  for  you 
might  as  well  eat  shoe  leather  as  the  figs  they  give  you 
in  the  Cyclades.  After  many  shakings  of  handkerchiefs 
and  much  tacking  we  eventually  got  out  of  los  harbour, 
and  sped  quickly  in  our  caJque  for  Sikinos. 


I70  THE  CYCLADES, 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS. 

We  had  our  misgivings  when  the  caique  which  had 
brought  us  from  los  left  us  alone  on  the  shores  of 
Sikinos,  some  two  hours'  distance  from  the  town. 

*  There  is  no  harbour  in  Sikinos/  said  our  captain 
when  we  remonstrated  and  wished  him  to  stay,  and  when 
we  remarked  that  if  he  did  not  come  back  for  us  at  the 
appointed  time  we  should  take  another  carque  he  only 
laughed  at  us  and  told  us  that  there  was  only  one  calfque 
belonging  to  Sikinos,  and  this  was  now  at  los. 

It  was  a  fact ;  we  found  that  Sikinos  had  only  one 
caYque  and  four  rotten  fishing-boats  which  will  never 
venture  in  winter  time  a  hundred  yards  from  the  shore  ; 
it  is  likewise  a  fact  that  the  solitary  calfque  and  the  four 
rotten  fishing-boats  have  to  be  drawn  up  on  the  beach 
every  night,  for  there  is  no  harbour.  And  a  proverb 
belonging  to  this  island  aptly  describes  the  position,  *  If 
an  army  of  rats  tried  to  land  on  the  north  shore  of 
Sikinos  not  one  would  be  saved.*  There  is  an  indentation 
called  a  bay  on  the  southern  coast  line  into  which  the 
solitary  caYque  can  run,  otherwise  Sikinos  is  a  mere  rock 
running  down  sheer  into  the  waves,  about  eight  miles  long 
by  two  wide. 

When  our  calfque  had  left  us  we  sat  down  on  the 
rocks  on  which  we  had  landed  and  ate  our  food,  think- 


STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS.  171 

ing  kindly  of  the  Lorenziades  as  we  did  so ;  then  we 
despatched  our  servant  to  the  town  for  mules,  and  sat 
guarding  our  luggage  in  one  of  the  most  solitary  places 
I  ever  was  in  for  four  hours  and  a  half  It  was  a  bleak, 
barren,  weird-looking  spot,  with  grey  marble  rocks 
towering  above  us,  and  nothing  to  be  heard  except  the 
cry  of  the  red-legged  partridges  and  the  occasional 
shriek  of  a  sea  bird.  And  as  the  wind  began  to  rise, 
and  gloomy  clouds  appeared,  we  looked  regretfully 
across  the  narrow  and  now  rough  strait  which  separated 
us  from  I  OS,  the  steamer,  and  the  world,  and  wondered 
whether  we  were  quite  wise  in  visiting  Sikinos  at  this 
season  of  the  year. 

It  was  almost  dark  when,  to  our  inexpressible  delight, 
muleteers  arrived,  and  soon  we  were  on  our  way  to  the 
Chora,  across  fearfully  rocky,  pathless  hills,  and  long 
before  we  reached  our  destination  it  was  darkness  visible. 
The  Chora,  or  town  of  Sikinos  is  the  only  inhabited 
place  on  the  island,  and  consists  of  two  villages  about 
five  minutes  distant  from  each  other,  which  divide 
between  them  the  1,200  inhabitants  of  the  island  ;  con- 
sequently they  have  not  much  difficulty  about  nomen- 
clature— one  bears  its  original  name  of  the  *  castro,'  or 
camp,  the  other  is  called  *  the  other  place ' :  and  no  further 
distinction  is  necessary. 

The  Sikiniotes  are  a  very  primitive  race  of  people, 
pure,  unadulterated  Greekis,  who  colonised  the  island, 
which  was  uninhabited  during  the  middle  ages.  About 
300  years  ago  refugees  came  hither  from  Crete  to  get  out 
of  the  way  of  Turkish  oppression,  and  built  themselves 
the  Castro,  high  up  on  the  mountain  side,  where  they 
could  be  safe  from  pirates  and  Turkish  supervision  ;  and 
here  they  have  lived  ever  since,  mingling  hardly  at  all 
with  the  outer  world,  and  never  likely  to  be  disturbed 


172  THE  CYCLADES, 


by  the  advent  of  steamer  or  telegraph.  Perhaps  if  we 
had  previously  known  how  quaint  and  primitive  the 
Sikiniotes  were  we  should  have  arranged  for  a  longer 
stay  amongst  them ;  but  the  elements  settled  this  question 
for  us :  a  good  steady  northern  gale  set  in  almost  im- 
mediately we  arrived,  which  effectually  prevented  our 
ca'fque  comingTas  we  had  arranged,  after  two  days  to 
take  us  on  to  Pholygandros,  and  we  were  left  storm- 
stayed  amongst  them  for  five  whole  days. 

We  plunged  into  the  dirty  Castro  through  a  gateway, 
and  in  the  dark  sank  ankle-deep  in  slush  which  in  other 
countries  would  only  have  been  encountered  in  a  pigsty, 
and  found  ourselves  housed  by  an  exceedingly  hospi- 
table and  jovial  demarch,  rough,  indeed,  and  uncivilised  ; 
but  what  could  we  expect  better  at  Sikinos  ?  His  house 
is  one  of  the  oldest  and  decidedly  the  most  respectable 
in  the  place,  having  about  it  some  rather  feeble  traces 
of  architectural  development,  for  our  bedroom  had  two 
hideously  grotesque  animals  as  capitals  to  the  door- 
jambs,  and  most  of  the  doors  boasted  of  some  orna- 
mental decoration  more  or  less  important  according  to 
the  rooms  into  which  they  led.  But  a  damper  house  I 
never  saw  in  all  my  life ;  all  our  clothes  were  wet  and 
dew  stood  on  our  boots  in  the  morning.  Some  boots 
belonging  to  the  family  which  they  had  left  under  the 
bed  were  quite  green  with  mould,  but  the  demarch 
made  up  for  any  deficiencies  of  climate  by  his  joviality 
and  good  fare  ;  he  seemed  to  live  in  a  perpetual  state  of 
jokes,  some  of  them  not  the  most  choice  to  be  sure,  but 
then  he  was  the  demarch  and  an  old  man,  and  had  un- 
limited licence.  He  fed  us  well,  too,  and  had  a  sucking 
pig  expressly  killed  and  cooked  for  our  benefit  just 
twelve  days  old.  It  was  according  to  the  Greek  idea  then 
at  its  perfection,  for  they  say,  *  A  lamb  or  a  kid  should  be 


STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS,  173 

three  days  old,  a  sucking  pig  twelve  days  old,  and  a 
heifer  forty  days  old,  before  it  is  fit  to  eat/ 

The  Castro  has  about  it  all  the  elements  of  a  fortified 
town — two  entrances,  one  of  which  is  a  mere  passage, 
and  easily  closed  up  in  time  of  danger.  The  backs  of  the 
houses,  as  usual,  form  the  wall  of  the  town.  There  is  the 
church  in  the  middle,  and  in  front  of  it  the  square  space 
for  dancing  ;  it  is  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  sea  ;  and 
immediately  on  leaving  the  town,  on  the  northern  side, 
you  descend  an  almost  precipitous  cliff  to  the  shore, 
where  up  a  little  gully  are  drawn  up  the  four  rotten  fish- 
ing-boats belonging  to  the  island. 

Every  January  7,  on  St.  John  the  Baptist's  Day, 
the  priests  of  the  place,  with  all  their  sacred  paraphernalia, 
and  followed  by  all  the  people,  go  down  this  steep  path 
to  bless  the  waves  and  the  four  rotten  fishing-boats.  Of 
course  this  ceremony  is  usual  all  over  the  coast  of 
Greece,  but  it  strikes  one  as  rather  ludicrous  here  in 
Sikinos,  where  there  is  so  very  little  to  bless.  After  the 
customary  prayer  the  priest  throws  a  cross  into  the 
sea,  with  a  stone  attached  to  it,  and  an  expert  diver, 
with  his  clothes  on,  jumps  in  to  get  it  out,  receiving 
some  coppers  for  his  pains  ;  when  this  ceremony  is 
over,  the  priests  and  the  people  wend  their  steep  way 
home  again,  and  the  sailors'  minds  are  at  peace  once 
more,  for  between  Christmas  Day  and  this  ceremony 
they  are  very  chary  about  trusting  themselves  to  the 
mercy  of  the  elements. 

The  sailors  of  Sikinos,  too,  have  another  curious 
superstition  :  that  if  they  wash  their  feet  during  the  first 
six  days  of  August — that  is  to  say,  *  until  the  candle  of 
Christ's  transfiguration  is  lit,'  as  the  expression  goes — 
they  will  get  those  round  sores  of  which  we  saw  so  many 
on  the  bare  legs  of  our  sailors,  and  which  doubtless  come 


174  ^^^  CYCLADES, 


from  poverty  of  blood  and  poor  fare  :  these  sores  they 
call  ^pvfi69.  Now  in  other  islands  there  exists  a  kindred 
superstition — if  linen  is  washed  during  these  days  it  will 
get  holes  in  it,  also  called  ^pvfies.  Theophilus  Kaires, 
the  Andriote  schoolmaster/  had  a,  theory  about  these — 
that  during  the  early  days  of  August .  he  had  often 
noticed  a  wind  t!o  blow,  which  brought  with  it  micro- 
scopic animalcule,  which  settled  on  anything  damp,  and 
which  produced  the  holes  in  the  clothes.  In  a  similar 
way  I  should  not  think  it  unlikely  that  the  fast  which 
the  Church  enforces  at  this  time,  coupled  with  the  heat, 
would  have  the  same  effect  on  the  blood.  Schmidt  goes 
so  far  as  to  connect  the  word  Apvfie^  with  the  Dryads  of 
ancient  days,  but  this  appears  to  me  a  little  strained. 

Amongst  other  curious  maladies  known  to  the  Siki- 
niotes,  and  which  I  never  met  elsewhere,  is  a  disease 
called  bird-blindness  (6pvL0o<rfcovvTov<l>\ai),  It  must  be 
a  species  of  ophthalmia,  arising  from  the  exposed  posi- 
tion of  the  town  and  the  great  damp  always  prevailing 
here.  It  is  quite  certain,  at  all  events,  that  many  here 
suffer  from  their  eyes,  and  they  attribute  it  to  the  follow- 
ing cause — that  if  anyone,  especially  a  child,  drinks  of 
water  out  of  which  a  bird  has  previously  drunk  he  is 
liable  to  this  disease  ;  he  will  become  blind  after  sunset, 
and  he  will  suffer  from  an  unpleasant  buzzing  in  the  ears. 
When  a  child  is  suffering  from  this  disease  they  adopt 
the  following  remedy.  Several  other  children  accompany 
the  patient,  whom  the  eldest  and  strongest  carries  in  his 
arms — and  as  they  go  from  house  to  house  they  sing, 
*  Our  little  So-and-so  is  ill ;  he  has  bird-blindness  ;  and 
whosoever  refuses  to  tell  him  how  to  be  cured  God  will 
cast  out.'  But  if  the  person  be  grown  up  the  treatment  is 
different :  they  take  the  heart  of  a  black  lamb  and  throw 

'  Vide  Andros,  p.  283. 


STORM^STAYED  AT  SIKINOS,  175 

it  raw  to  a  black  cock,  and  when  he  has  pecked  at  it 
three  times  they  cook  it  and  give  it  to  the  patient  to  eat. 

We  climbed  one  day  down  the  cliff  to  see  the  little 
cleft  on  the  northern  coast  below  the  town  which  they 
grandly  call  *the  northern  harbour/  The  four  rotten 
boats  were  there  drawn  up  the  gully,  with  their  oars  and 
gourds  ready  for  their  owners  to  go  out  fishing  on  the 
first  fine  day.  There  seems  to  be  no  fear  of  robbers  in  this 
island,  for  boathouses  and  stores  for  fishing  tackle  are 
unknown.  It  is  very  wild  and  beautiful,  this  northern 
coast  line  of  Sikinos,  fertile  in  every  kind  of  wild  herb 
and  flower,  clinging  to  its  precipices  in  spite  of  the  keen- 
ness of  the  north  wind  which  blows  upon  them.  The  cliff 
was  a  perfect  garden  just  now  of  narcissus,  anemone, 
and  euphorbia  ;  the  little  Church  of  St.  Nicholas,  which 
guards  the  four  boats,  is  almost  buried  in  luxuriantly 
growing  wild  mastic.  Sikinos  is  famed  for  its  honey 
far  and  wide,  and  Tournefort  in  his  day  tells  us  what  a 
valuable  field  it  was  for  botanical  research. 

The  morning  after  our  arrival  wzis  fairly  fine,  with 
the  ominous  gatherings  of  a  tempest  in  the  air ;  so  we 
decided  forthwith  to  make  our  one  expedition  in  the 
island  to  the  temple  of  Pythian  Apollo,  and  the  ruins  of 
the  old  town. 

Episcopi  they  now  call  the  old  temple,  which  has 
been  converted  into  a  church ;  it  is  about  an  hour's  mule 
ride  from  the  town,  and  the  road  which  leads  to  it  is 
high  up  above  the  sea,  and  lined  with  immense  fig-trees 
and  extensive  vineyards,  showing  the  fertility  of  the 
place.  The  church,  as  may  be  supposed,  is  now  covered 
with  whitewash,  and  is  surrounded  by  ruined  outhouses, 
where  once  monks  used  to  live  before  the  disestablish- 
ment, and  where  the  people  are  put  up  at  the  annual 
panegyris  on  August  15. 


176  THE  CYC  LADES, 


Few  remains  in  Greece  are  more  perfect  than  this 
temple  of  Apollo  at  Sikinos.  Somehow  it  has  escaped 
observation,  and  it  has  been  too  high  above  the  sea 
to  make  it  of  any  use  for  building  material ;  hence  it 
escaped  during  the  earlier  years  of  Vandalism  ;  and  then 
when  it  was  turned  into  a  place  of  Christian  worship  a 
certain  amount  of  respect  was  secured  for  it,  which  other 
ruins  did  not  obtain  until  later  years.  The  roof  is  of 
modem  date,  being  a  Byzantine  cupola,  and  round  the 
edge  are  battlements  where  the  monks  at  the  approach 
of  pirates  used  to  take  refuge ;  there  are  still  the  re- 
mains of  their  kitchen  where  they  used  to  cook  when 
compelled  to  live  on  the  roof,  and  of  the  loopholes  out 
of  which  they  used  to  shoot  their  assailants,  in  the  me- 
mory of  the  man  who  now  owns  and  tills  the  land  around. 

This  personage  received  us  with  civility ;  he  is 
quite  a  better  sort  of  man,  and  considered  himself 
superior  to  our  muleteers ;  yet  he  is  content  to  live 
in  one  of  the  deserted  cells :  though  he  has  a  house 
in  the  town  he  hardly  ever  occupies  it.  Certainly 
the  Greeks  of  all  classes  are  most  frugally  minded : 
here  at  Episcopi  his  bed  is  composed  only  of  the 
staves  of  a  broken  barrel  over  which  a  coverlet 
(7ra7rX®/Lta)  is  cast ;  his  plough,  his  firewood,  some  pots, 
and  a  helmet  like  a  meat  safe,  which  he  calls  his  Kopal^ 
(for  collecting  honey),  a  bright  green  jar  for  oil,  with  a  bit 
of  sponge  stuck  in  as  a  stopper,  lie  in  hopeless  confusion 
about  his  cell.  In  the  wall  are  two  or  three  niches 
where  his  lantern,  his  water  bottle,  and  cooking  utensils 
are  kept.  His  only  chair  is  composed  of  two  loose 
stones  with  a  board  on  the  top  of  them,  yet  he  is  a 
superior  man  and  has  *  ILvpiz '  put  before  his  name  when- 
ever he  is  addressed. 

He  gave  us  wine,  water,  and  a  horribly  nasty  cake. 


f 


STORM^STAYED  AT  SJKINOS,  177 

composed  of  pastry  mixed  with  all  sorts  of  grasses,  and 
called  TrrjTTa,  Luckily  we  had  provisions  of  our  own 
with  us,  or  we  should  have  fared  badly. 

The  demarch  had  a  capital  repast  for  us  on  our 
return — partridges,  pilaff,  and  local  wine  of  the  first 
quality — after  which  the  inhabitants  trooped  in  to  see 
us,  to  laugh  at  our  host's  jokes,  to  drink  wine,  and  to 
pick  up  any  crumbs  that  might  fall  to  them  from  our 
table.  Sikinos  is  as  celebrated  for  its  wine  as  for  its 
honey,  and  the  demarch  had  the  best  vineyards  in  the 
island.  Even  as  far  back  as  the  days  of  Pliny  and 
Strabo  there  was  a  report  that  the  island  in  former  days 
had  been  called  Olvori  from  the  wine  {plvos)  which  it 
produced. 

Outside  the  wind  was  howling ;  the  storm  which 
had  been  threatening  all  day  had  now  burst  upon 
us  ;  the  bottle  passed  freely,  we  began  to  roll  our 
cigarettes,  and  everyone  combined  in  prophesying  that 
we  should  not  leave  Sikinos,  as  we  intended,  on  the 
morrow.  At  the  prospect  of  our  detention  in  the 
island,  and  consequent  festivities,  our  jocular  host  grew 
gayer  and  gayer,  and  the  jokes  he  cracked  with  the 
women  who  came  in  would  have  brought  a  blush  to  the 
cheeks  of  the  most  barefaced  Englishwoman.  The  result 
of  this  conversation  was,  that  I  discovered  how  a  young 
Sikiniote  had  been  born  the  day  before,  and  that  if  we 
liked  to  witness  the  ceremony  they  would  have  him 
baptized  on  the  day  after  the  morrow  ;  *  for,'  concluded  the 
demarch,  *  the  storm  will  not  go  down  for  three  days  and 
the  habits  of  our  islanders  on  the  subject  of  births  are  well 
worth  your  study.'  We  were  well  contented  at  this  news, 
and  exceedingly  grateful  to  the  good  woman  who  had  so 
well  timed  her  arrangements  that  they  would  provide  us 
with  an  object  whilst  storm-stayed  at  Sikinos. 

N 


178  THE  CYC  LADES. 

The  storm  was  raging  next  morning,  with  the  fury 
that  characterises  these  island  hurricanes.  Nowhere  can 
more  terrible  northern  gales  be  encountered  than  in  the 
-<tgean  Sea,  as  they  sweep  over  the  islands  and  cover 
the  sea  with  foam  ;  we  could  scarcely  stand  for  the 
violence  of  the  gusts  ;  but  nevertheless  the  air  was  in- 
vigorating, and  our  quarters  not  too  wretched  despite 
the  damp,  though  an  earthenware  pot  a  foot  in  diameter, 
with  a  handful  of  burning  charcoal  in  it,  is  but  a  poor 
substitute  for  a  fire  on  a  cold  day,  even  though  bits  of 
lemon  peel  are  thrown  in  to  make  a  pleasant  odour  in 
the  room. 

An  old  man,  the  former  demarch,  came  in  shortly 
after  we  were  up,  and  begged  for  the  privilege  of  taking 
us  about  the  town.  In  many  respects  he  seemed  a  man 
more  respected  and  looked  up  to  than  our  jocular  host ; 
for  we  were  told  that  if  his  age  and  infirmities  had  not 
interfered  with  the  fulfilment  of  his  duties  he  would  still 
have  been  in  office.  Wrapped  in  a  shawl,  and  stick  in  hand, 
he  seemed  to  despise  the  cold,  and  trudged  on  at  a  good 
pace  to  show  us  his  garden.  Every  landowner  in  Sikinos 
has  a  garden  outside  the  town,  surrounded  by  a  wall,  in 
which  he  grows  his  vegetables  and  figs  for  household  con- 
sumption, and  containing  buildings  in  which  are  his  wine- 
press, his  threshing  floor,  his  mule  stable,  and  his  store  (aTro- 
6r\K7)\  where  the  produce  of  his  country  estate  is  housed, 
his  honey,  his  com,  and  his  wine  ;  and  this  is  closed  with 
a  cleverly  constructed  wooden  key.  All  along  the  hillside 
stretch  these  gardens,  which  have,  from  a  distance,  quite 
the  appearance  of  a  separate  village  with  exceedingly 
mean  houses. 

*  We  are  very  law-abiding,  quiet  people  (rfo-irxpt  av- 
dpoairoi)  here  in  Sikinos,'  said  our  conductor  with  the 
usual  insular  pride  which  leads  you  to  infer  that  this  is  not 


STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS.  179 

the  case  in  other  islands  ;  and  it  was  obvious  to  us  that 
thieves  cannot  exist  here,  or  these  gardens  would  soon 
be  pillaged.  Kortes  was  the  name  of  the  old  man,  and 
after  showing  us  his  garden  he  conducted  us  to  his 
house,  a  large  cold  place,  without  any  glass  in  the 
windows,  just  over  the  town  gateway ;  there  he  re- 
galed us  with  coffee,  and  showed  us  with  pride  an  old 
altar  which  had  come  from  the  temple  in  the  old  town, 
and  was  dedicated  to  Hermes. 

At  the  top  of  the  hill,  just  above  the  town,  the  wind 
howled  and  blew  most  terribly ;  in  spite  of  it,  however, 
we  climbed  up  to  visit  a  monastic  institution,  lately  dis- 
persed, which  was  dedicated  to  the  Life-giving  Stream  ; 
on  one  side  it  overhangs  a  yawning  precipice,  down 
which  it  will  soon  fall  if  means  are  not  taken  to  prevent 
its  final  ruin.  But  it  is  the  same  with  all  these  deserted 
monasteries  in  Greece — another  generation  will  hardly 
see  one  stone  upon  another.  In  Sikinos,  as  elsewhere, 
churches  abound  ;  in  fact,  there  are  more  churches  than 
houses  on  the  island  ! 

On  our  descent  we  were  glad  of  our  midday  meal, 
and  as  soon  as  this  was  over  we  were  taken  off  to  pay  a 
visit  to  the  interesting  woman  whose  child  next  day  was 
to  be  received  into  the  bosom  of  the  orthodox  Church. 
She  was  the  wife  of  a  poor  man,  who  lived  in  a  cottage 
outside  the  town  walls,  consisting  of  but  one  room,  at 
the  extreme  end  of  which  was  a  large  bed,  where  the 
mother  was  perched  who  had  presented  Sikinos  two 
days  before  with  a  male  child. 

In  all  primitive  societies  male  children  are  deemed  a 
special  cause  for  rejoicing  ;  here  in  Sikinos  they  are  very 
strong  in  this  opinion,  considering  a  daughter  a  curse  to  a 
house  if  possible  to  be  avoided.  With  this  view  an  expec- 
tant mother  is  sure  to  provide  herself  with  a  sprig  of  a  cer- 

N  2 


i8o  THE  CYCLADES, 


tain  flower,  called  *  male-flower  *  (dpaeviKofforavo),  which 
is  supposed  to  conduce  to  the  desired  result.  What  slaves 
to  superstition  these  unfortunate  women  are,  to  be  sure, 
before  the  happy  event  takes  place !  On  St.  Simeon's 
Day  no  expectant  mother  would  think  of  cooking  or 
washing,  or  dusting,  for  fear  the  child  should  have  ugly 
marks  upon  it.  We  suffered  from  this  once  in  our 
travels,  and  had  to  be  content  with  cold  fare  and  male 
administrations  for  the  day.  When  they  go  to  the  oven 
on  Saturday — for  in  Sikinos  bread  is  baked  only  on  a 
Saturday — expectant  mothers  must  use  the  greatest  care 
not  to  tear  their  dress,  or  the  child  will  have  marks 
upon  it  called  irawurraX ;  if,  by  chance,  this  misfortune 
occurs  the  only  thing  then  to  be  done  is  to  smack  their 
hips,  for  thereby  they  will  localise  the  mark  on  the 
unborn  child. 

The  happy  father  of  a  male  child,  immediately  the 
sex  is  announced  to  him  by  Mrs.  Gamp,  goes  outside 
his  house  and  lets  off  his  gun  several  times  to  let  the 
neighbours  know  the  good  fortune  that  has  befallen  his 
family. 

On  our  arrival  at  the  cottage  the  place  was  full  of 
visitors  and  relatives,  bringing  the  customary  gifts.  A 
table  was  spread  with  sweets  and  glasses  of  raki^  and 
all  were  wishing  the  mother  '  a  happy  forty  days,'  for 
according  to  custom  for  forty  days  after  the  event  she 
does  not  go  to  church—  a  custom  which  seems  to  have 
been  directly  borrowed  from  antiquity.^ 

As  soon  as  we  arrived  Mrs.  Gamp,  an  estimable 
neighbour,  who  had  come  in  for  the  occasion,  put  a 
bowl  on  the  middle  of  the  table,  into  which  warm  water 
was  poured,  and  lemon  leaves,  which  had  previously  been 

'  In  Grsecis  dies  habent  quadragesimos  insignes,  namque  pregnans  ante 
diem  quadragesimam  non  procedit  in  fanum. — Censorinus. 


STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS,  i8i 

boiled,  were  thrown,  and  then  the  relatives  who  stood 
near  cast  in  a  little  salt  and  sugar,  after  which  the  good 
woman  set  to  work  to  wash  the  infant  publicly,  *  My 
Iron,'  as  his  mother  called  him  (ZlSrfps  fiov)  ;  for  it  is  a 
custom  in  these  parts  to  call  a  child  Iron,  or  Dragon,  or 
some  such  name,  to  indicate  prospective  strength  before 
the  christening  takes  place. 

When  Master  Iron's  first  ablutions  were  over  Mrs. 
Gamp  called  a  kinswoman,  and  bade  her  bring  water  to 
wash  her  hands,  saying,  as  she  did  so,  *  Kyrie  Eleison  ' 
forty  times,  which  is  intended  as  a  thanksgiving  to.  the 
Creator  that  He  has  permitted  her  to  receive  a  male 
child  amongst  the  living. 

Before  the  priest  blesses  the  child,  after  this  cere- 
mony is  over,  no  one  is  allowed  to  come  in  or  to  go  out 
of  the  room  ;  but  as  soon  as  the  priest  got  to  the  liturgy 
of  the  Highest  the  door  was  thrown  open,  for  then,  say 
they,  there  is  no  fear  of  Nereids  or  Lamiae  getting  pos- 
session of  the  newborn  infant.  If  the  family  are  rich 
the  priest  receives  a  handsome  present  on  this  occasion  ; 
but  the  father  to-day  was  but  a  poor  man,  and  could 
only  give  the  priest  a  cake,  which  he  took  gladly,  and 
went  his  way,  after  giving  the  babe  and  mother  a  final 
blessing. 

Mrs.  Gamp  now  swaddled  her  charge  tightly  from 
head  to  foot,  and  the  guests  began  to  depart,  dropping, 
as  they  went  away,  a  copper  into  the  nurse's  hands. 

For  many  days  to  come  no  one  is  allowed  to  enter 
the  house  after  sunset,  andmother  and  babe  are  strictly 
forbidden  to  wear  clothes  which  have  been  exposed  to 
the  stars  unless  they  have  been  fumigated  by  a  censer. 
There  is  something  practical  in  this  rule,  for  in  damp 
Sikinos  everything  that  is  exposed  to  the  night  air 
becomes  impregnated  with  moisture. 


1 82  THE  CYCLADES. 


Anent  births  in  general,  and  those  at  Sikinos  in  par- 
ticular, our  host,  the  demarch,  told  us  many  curious 
things  that  evening.  Generally  a  babe  is  not  christened  for 
some  days  after  birth,  unless  it  is  a  weakling,  and  then  if  no 
priest  is  at  hand  any  person  of  the  orthodox  persuasion 
can  baptize  it  by  plunging  it  into  water  and  saying  the 
necessary  words,  to  be  supplemented  by  the  priest  if 
the  child  survives. 

St  Eleutherios  is  the  protector  of  newborn  babes, 
and  is  usually  called  upon  by  the  mother  in  her  distress, 
as  anciently  was  the  goddess  Eileithyia.  Mrs.  Gamp  of 
course  hurries  at  the  first  intimation  that  her  services 
are  required,  and  is  sure  to  take  with  her  an  olive  branch, 
which  is  called,  from  its  resemblance,  *  the  virgin's  hand  ' 
{Tr\s  Ilavayiaf  to  %«/3^),  which  the  patient  is  to  hold  in 
her  hands  to  alleviate  her  pangs.  In  like  manner  a  red 
straggling  creeper  which  covers  the  bushes  in  the  spring 
is  called  *  the  virgin's  hair '  (t§*  Havayla?  ra  /laXXt^),  and 
is  considered  useful  to  hold  in  cases  of  fever. 

Greek  women  who  work  for  hire  in  the  fields  are 
very  strong,  and  do  not  allow  their  maternal  troubles  to 
interfere  with  their  industry ;  and  about  these  things 
the  demarch  told  us  much  that  will  not  bear  repetition 
here.  After  birth  it  is  considered  a  good  thing  for 
the  handsomest  man  to  be  the  first  to  embrace  the 
child,  so  as  to  give  it  a  part  of  his  beauty,  and  for  the 
strongest  and  wisest  woman  to  be  the  first  to  suckle  the 
infant  for  the  same  reason.  This  idea  of  imparting 
beauty  and  strength  is  an  ancient  one,  for  in  *  Hero- 
dotus '  vi.  6i  we  have  the  story  of  an  ugly  child 
becoming  the  most  beautiful  girl  in  Sparta  because  her 
nurse  took  her  to  the  temple  of  the  heroine  Helen, 
whom  they  met  there  one  day  ;  and  the  plot  of  the 
^Ethiopians  of  Heliodorus  turns  on  the  belief  that  the 


STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS.  183 

queen  of  the  ^Ethiopians  had  a  white  child  because  she 
had  an  image  of  Hesione  before  her  when  the  child  was 
born. 

Generally  the  baptism  is  on  the  seventh  or  eighth 
day  after  birth  ;  it  was  in  honour  of  us  that  Master  Iron 
was  to  be  baptized  on  the  third  day,  on  the  afternoon  of 
which  we  and  many  others  found  ourselves  gathered  in 
the  metropolitan  church  of  Sikinos  to  receive  Master 
Iron. 

The  font  was  in  the  middle  of  the  nave,  a  large 
goblet-shaped  one  made  of  lead ;  jugs  of  hot  and  cold 
water  were  brought  in,  and  then  the  priest,  as  he  con- 
ducted the  service,  mingled  them  in  the  font  until  he 
thought  the  temperature  suitable  for  the  immersion  of 
so  frail  an  object.  In  many  cases,  where  deep  fonts  are 
scarce,  and  adults  have  to  be  immersed,  there  is  con- 
siderable difficulty  attending  this  ceremony.  An  Italian 
miner  came  to  work  at  Antiparos,  and  got  engaged  to 
a  Greek  girl,  who  refused  to  marry  him  unless  he  became 
a  baptized  orthodox.  No  vessel  could  be  found  large 
enough  to  immerse  him  in  in  the  church,  so  the  priest 
and  the  congregation  repaired  to  a  jetty,  from  which  the 
Italian  was  pushed  off  and  ducked  three  times  in  the  sea. 

Meanwhile  Mrs.  Gamp  was  busily  engaged  in  re- 
moving the  swaddling  clothes,  and  as  the  service  went 
on  Master  Iron's  clothing  was  reduced  to  a  white  cloth 
and  a  cap.  As  the  priest  mixed  the  water  he  continued 
reading  the  service  vigorously,  and  constantly  made  a 
cross  in  the  water  by  blowing  upon  it  in  that  shape,  as 
he  likewise  did  to  the  baby  which  Mrs.  Gamp  held  up, 
and  to  keep  his  long  hair  out  of  the  water  he  fastened 
it  behind  his  ears.  Oil  was  then  poured  three  times 
into  the  font  in  the  form  of  a  cross.  On  either  side  of 
the  font  stood  the  two  sponsors  with  lighted  candles. 


r84  THE  CYCLADES. 


When  all  was  ready  the  priest  turned  up  his  coloured  silk 
cloak  till  it  was  nearly  inside  out,  rolled  up  his  sleeves, 
and  prepared  for  action.  Finally  the  godmother  took 
Master  Iron  from  his  nurse,  divested  him  of  the  white  cloth 
and  the  cap,  and  a  wee  red  object,  like  a  skinned  rabbit, 
was  held  up  for  public  gaze  in  the  hands  of  the  priest. 
After  oiling  him  in  various  parts  the  priest  held  him 
aloft,  and  then  proceeded  to  plunge  him  over  head  and 
ears  three  times  in  the  font.  This  ceremony  over,  the 
godmother  received  her  charge  into  three  white  cloths 
with  which  to  dry  him,  and  after  a  tiny  shirt  and  cap 
had  been  blessed  the  priest  put  them  on  ;  then  Mrs. 
Gamp  came  to  the  fore  again,  seized  the  infant  as  her 
lawful  property,  swaddled  him  tightly  once  more,  as  she 
kissed  him  and  called  him  *  her  little  Johnny '  (TuivvaKfci 
fiov),  which  simple  serviceable  name  had  now  taken  the 
place  of  Iron. 

Johnny  was  not  done  with  yet  by  any  means,  for  no 
sooner  was  he  swaddled  than  he  was  held  upright  by  his 
legs,  his  cap  was  taken  off  again,  and  the  priest  cut  four 
locks  of  hair,  which  there  was  considerable  diflficulty  in 
finding,  saying,  *  One  for  the  Father,  one  for  the  Son,  one 
for  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  one  for  Eternity,'  as  he  mixed 
the  hair  with  candle  wax  and  burnt  it.  A  blue  cloak 
was  then  put  on  the  child  by  the  priest,  likewise  a  hat, 
and  a  ribbon  tied  round  his  waist,  which  the  priest 
dexterously  crossed  round  at  the  back,  brought  over  the 
shoulders,  and  tucked  in  in  front.  Then  the  godmother 
took  her  charge  and  carried  him  three  times  round  the 
font,  bowing  as  she  did  so  to  the  priest,  who  fumigated 
her  with  incense.  This  dancing  round  the  font  at  births, 
and  round  the  altar  at  marriages,  reminds  one  strongly 
of  the  amphidromia  of  antiquity.  The  priest  then  took 
poor  little  Johnny  once  more  from  his  godmother  to  kiss 


STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS,  185 

all  the  holy  pictures  on  the  tempelon^  and  laid  him  on  a 
bench  alone,  as  if  to  give  him  time  for  meditation,  after 
which  he  took  him  into  the  holy  of  holies,  which  was  the 
concluding  ceremony,  and  Master  Johnny  was  at  last 
properly  enrolled  as  a  member  of  the  orthodox  Church. 

After  leaving  the  church  we  formed  a  procession, 
headed  by  the  priest  and  the  baby,  and  accompanied  by 
the  monotonous  chanting  of  psalms.  We  walked  thus  all 
round  the  walls  of  Sikinos  until  we  came  again  to  the 
mother's  cottage,  and  delivered  her  up  her  infant,  which 
ceremony  is  called  the  irapdhosis  (giving  up).  Great 
was  our  surprise  to  find  her  about,  and  bustling  to  d6 
the  honours  of  her  home.  She  had  honey  cakes  covered 
with  sesame  seeds  and  other  sweets  spread  on  a  table, 
and  lots  of  glasses  of  raki  to  regale  us  with.  Again 
complimentary  wishes  were  heaped  upon  her — a  rapid 
recovery,  a  good  forty  days,  and  success  to  the  child. 
Then  we  took  our  departure,  promising  to  look  in 
the  next  day  to  see  how  she  and  her  infant  were  get- 
ting on. 

The  belief  in  charms  for  protecting  newborn  infants 
is  very  strong  in  Greece.  Amulets,  like  those  used  in 
antiquity  to  avert  the  glance  of  the  god  Fascinus,  are 
still  hung  round  children's  necks  to  charm  them  from 
the  evil  eye.  Here  in  Sikinos  we  found  the  belief  in  the 
evil  eye  especially  strong  ;  people  who  are  possessed  of 
this  unfortunate  glance  can  wither  up  a  fruit  tree  by 
simply  admiring  it.  Old  Kortes,  the  exrdemarch,  told 
me  that  once  he  had  an  apple  tree  covered  with  lovely 
fruit ;  some  one  with  the  evil  eye  went  past  and  said,  *  Oh, 
what  lovely  apples  ! '  Two  hours  afterwards  they  returned 
that  way,  and  found  not  a  single  apple  on  the  tree,  and 
basketfuls  lying  on  the  ground.  The  demarch  showed 
me  a  charm  which   his  son  had  worn  :  it  was  a  round, 


1 86  THE  CYCLADES, 


prettily  carved  bit  of  wood,  about  an  inch  and  a  half 
in  diameter  ;  in  little  circles  round  the  outer  edge  were 
eight  prophets,  the  bottom  one  representing  Jonah  just 
coming  out  of  the  whale's  mouth,  and  in  the  centre  was 
the  Annunciation.  Another  plan  for  averting  the  evil  eye 
is  for  an  old  woman  to  spit  in  the  face  of  the  possessor 
of  this  unfortunate  attribute  ;  for  generally  it  only  affects 
beauty  and  youth  ;  but  to  secure  herself  from  all  danger 
she  must  spit  three  times  into  her  own  bosom,  muttering, 
as  she  does  so,  *  Cursed  fiasxavsia  *  (evil  eye).  A  good 
thing  for  everybody  to  wear  round  their  necks  is  a  three- 
cornered  amulet  with  salt,  coal,  and  garlic  inside,  and  on 
tying  it  the  mother  or  other  officiating  relative  should 
say,  *  Salt  and  garlic  be  in  the  eyes  of  our  enemies.' 
When  a  man  is  grown  up  he  is  often  ashamed  of  such 
trivialities  ;  so  his  anxious  mother  ties  a  bit  of  salt  in  the 
corner  of  his  handkerchief,  or  else  ties  a  knot  in  the  tail 
of  his  shirt,  which  in  some  places  is  considered  as  an 
excellent  safeguard  against  stomach-aches. 

One  other  ceremony  I  must  mention  here,  which  is 
always  carried  on  at  Sikinos  in  connection  with  child- 
hood, namely,  the  fate-telling,  or  fwipia-fia  of  the  babe  ; 
for  the  old  Fates  are  thoroughly  believed  in  still ;  and  for 
three  nights  after  a  birth  friends  will  put  valuable 
articles  and  sweets  in  the  mother's  bed  to  propitiate  the 
fickle  goddesses. 

At  Sikinos  this  ceremony  takes  place  on  the  child's 
first  birthday,  when  all  the  relatives  are  gathered  to- 
gether. A  tray  is  brought  out,  and  on  it  are  put  various 
objects — a  pen,  money,  tools,  an  egg,  &c. — and  whichever 
the  infant  first  touches  with  its  hands  is  held  to  be  the 
indication  of  the  Mocpa,  or  Fate,  as  to  the  most  suitable 
career  to  be  chosen  for  it.  The  meaning  of  the  first- 
mentioned  articles  is  obvious.     The  demarch  told  me 


STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS,  187 

that  his  son  had  touched  a  pen  ;  consequently  he  had 
been  sent  to  the  university  at  Athens,  and  had  there 
made  considerable  progress  ;  but  the  meaning  of  the 
egg  is  not  quite  so  clear,  and  the  egg  is  the  horror  of  all 
parents,  for  if  the  child  touches  it  he  will  be  a  good-for- 
nothing — a  mere  duck's  egg,  so  to  speak,  in  society. 

Some  ceremony  such  as  this  must  have  been  the  one 
alluded  to  by  Apolodorus  when  he  tells  us  that  seven 
days  after  the  birth  of  Meleager  the  Fates  told  the  horo- 
logue  of  the  child,  and  the  torch  was  lighted  on  the 
hearth.  In  some  places  still  the  seventh  day  is  chosen 
as  the  one  for  this  important  ceremony,  and  it  is  called 
i<f>Ta.  When  it  is  dark,  and  the  lamps  are  lighted,  a 
table  is  put  in  the  middle  of  the  house,  a  basin  full  of 
honey  in  the  centre  of  the  table,  and  all  around  quan- 
tities of  food.  Numerous  oil  lamps  are  then  lighted  ; 
one  is  dedicated  to  Christ,  another  to  the  Virgin,  another 
to  the  Baptist,  and  so  forth.  A  confession  of  faith  is 
then  read,  and  deep  silence  prevails,  and  the  saint  whose 
lamp  is  the  first  to  go  out  is  chosen  as  the  protector  of 
the  infant  At  this  moment  the  Fates  are  said  to  come 
in  and  '  /caXofioipd^ovac  *  the  child,  and  take  some  of  the 
food  from  the  table. 

The  demarch  of  Sikinos  was  very  communicative, 
too,  on  the  subject  of  the  Fates.  He  told  me  that  they 
are  supposed  to  be  three  in  number — old  women  who  in- 
habit inaccessible  mountains — and  none  but  magicians 
are  aware  of  their  whereabouts.  0A,a>  va  ^Trayo)  '^  to 
fiovvo  Tr)v  Molpd  fiov  va  tcpd^oa,  *  I  shall  go  to  the  moun- 
tain to  call  on  my  Fate  '  is  a  common  expression  of  dis- 
satisfaction with  destiny. 

Men  who  are  fortunate  from  birth  are  called  *  KaXoiro- 
Sdpoty'  '  well-legged,*  as  opposed  to  *  KaKoiroBdpoi*  *  bad- 
legged,*  whose  undertakings  invariably  fail.     It  is  most 


i88  THE  CYCLADES. 

unpleasant  to  establish  a  reputation  for  ill  luck  in  the 
Greek  islands  ;  your  best  friend  will  close  his  doors 
against  you  on  the  first  day  of  the  year,  month,  or  week. 
And,  again,  it  is  not  an  enviable  post  to  be  a  noted 
person  for  good  luck  ;  you  will  be  pestered  with  applica- 
tions to  be  best  man,  godfather  {compAros\  and  to  be 
godfather  to  a  Greek  child  means  something,  for  the 
obligation  of  providing  a  trousseau  for  the  child  accom- 
panies the  title. 

The  Fates  of  to-day  closely  resemble  their  predeces- 
sors :  they  are  always  spinning  the  thread  (vrjfMo),  as 
symbolical  of  the  life  of  a  man.  They  preside  over  three 
events  of  life — birth,  marriage,  and  death,  "  the  three 
evils  of  destiny  (*  rpia  Kaicii  rfis  Molpaf  *)  a  discontented 
Greek  will  call  them,  who  considers  it  a  misfortune  to 
have  been  born,  a  still  greater  one  to  be  married,  and  the 
greatest  of  all  to  die. 

The  Fates  are  in  some  places  supposed  to  write  on 
the  forehead  of  a  man  his  destiny.  Pimples  on  the  nose 
and  forehead  are  called  *  the  writings  of  the  Fates '  (r&v 
MoLpmv  tA  ypayfrlfiara.  The  decrees  ol  the  Fates  are  un- 
alterable. According  to  various  legends  attempts  have 
been  made  to  change  them,  but  without  avail.  Only 
once  a  girl  of  Naxos,  so  I  was  told,  up  in  a  mountain 
village,  who  was  excessively  ugly,  managed  to  learn  from 
a  magician  where  the  Fates  lived,  and  that,  if  she  could 
get  them  to  eat  salt,  they  would  go  blind  and  change  her 
fate.  So  she  contrived  to  bring  this  about,  and  became 
exceedingly  lovely,  married  a  prince,  but  had  no  children  ; 
'  showing,'  concluded  the  legend,  *  that  the  Fates  never 
consent  to  any  person  being  altogether  happy.' 

The  next  day  was  fine,  and  we  almost  thought  our 
caYque  would  come,  but  no  ;  the  Greeks  are  not  cou- 
rageous sailors,  and  only  gave  as  their  excuse  when  they 


STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS.  189 

did  come,  that  they  thought  the  sea  would  have  been 
too  rough  after  the  storm.  But  it  is  a  peculiarity  of  these 
northern  gales  on  the  islands,  as  soon  as  the  wind  goes 
down  the  sea  is  calm  ;  whereas  with  a  southern  gale  the 
contrary  is  the  case :  so  we  did  not  believe  them. 

On  the  afternoon  of  this  day,  which  was  very  lovely, 
after  paying  visits  to  various  houses  and  gardens  we 
wiere  informed  that  if  we  liked  we  might  go  and  see  the 
tail  end  of  a  wedding.  Now  weddings  last  five  days  in 
Sikinos  ;  so  I  was  rather  annoyed  that  we  had  not  been 
told  that  it  was  going  on  before,  for  we  could  easily  have 
seen  more  of  the  ceremony,  which  it  would  have  been  in- 
teresting to  compare  with  the  one  we  saw  at  Santorin. 

This  is  what  they  do  at  Sikinos  on  the  occasion  of  a 
wedding.  On  the  first  day,  Thursday,  when  the  festivities 
usually  begin,  the  crier  is  sent  round  to  summon  the  guests 
to  the  bride's  house.  As  a  rule,  in  Greece  the  house  which 
is  to  be  occupied  by  the  young  couple  belongs  to  the 
bride ;  a  Greek  girl  without  a  house  has  but  little  chance 
of  marrying,  and  it  is  a  father's  care  to  provide  houses 
for  his  girls.  The  trousseau  has  been  made  on  a  simple 
but  co-operative  principle  during  the  last  week  ;  all  the 
lady  friends  of  the  bride  have  been  assisting  her,  and 
now  the  wedding  festivities  have  been  formally  announced. 
On  Thursday  afternoon  they  have  the  ceremony  of  the 
mixing  of  the  yeast  for  the  cakes,  &c.  A  reception  is 
given  for  the  occasion,  and  guns  are  let  off  to  announce 
to  all  the  world  the  coming  event :  this  is  called  fj  irpoei- 
Boirolrja-Ls  rov  ydfiov  (the  announcement  of  the  wedding). 

On  Friday  they  make  the  sweets,  to  assist  at  which 
all  the  female  friends  of  the  bride  are  bidden  ;  and  they 
bring  with  them  presents  of  food  and  wood,  which  last 
commodity  is  exceedingly  valuable  in  Sikinos,  where 
few  trees  bigger  than  a  fig  tree  grow.     Guns  are  again 


I90  THE  CYCLADES. 


let  off,  and  healths  are  drunk.  On  Saturday  they  make 
the  honey  cake,  covered  with  sesame  seeds,  and  the 
evening  is  passed  in  dancing  and  other  amusements. 

On  Sunday  there  is  the  usual  ceremony  of  crowning, 
and  the  Church  services  are  followed  by  dancing  in  the 
evening.  On  Monday  they  again  have  dancing,  drinking, 
and  feasting  to  any  extent.  To-day  was  Monday,  and 
when  we  went  to  the  house  the  second  wedding  feast,  the 
social  dinner  (^  rpdire^a),  was  just  concluded,  and  they 
were  just  preparing  to  dance  the  whole  afternoon.  Poor 
bride  !  we  pitied  her  very  much.  She  was  not  very  beauti- 
ful to  begin  with,  and  after  all  the  dancing  and  excite- 
ment of  her  marriage  festivities  she  looked  thoroughly 
worn  out  and  fit  to  drop  with  fatigue.  We  were  given 
honey  cakes  {pastellt)  and  raki  qn  an  old  Venetian 
brass  dish,  and  then  placed  on  the  divan  to  watch  the 
dancing.  I  have  watched  the  syrtos  so  often  in  Greece 
that  it  usually  bores  me,  but  I  have  seldom  seen  it  so 
well  done  as  at  this  wedding  at  Sikinos.  The  men 
danced  in  their  stocking  feet,  and  they  and  the  women 
were  highly  elastic  in  their  movements.  The  bridegroom 
and  his  bestman  wore  fezes,  no  coats,  red  embroidered 
waistcoats  laced  behind,  red  sashes,  and  blue  glazed 
calico  baggy  trousers.  The  semicircle  of  five  dancers, 
holding  to  each  other  by  handkerchiefs,  waved  backwards 
and  forwards,  the  line  closed  and  opened  again,  and  the 
men  at  either  end  with  a  sort  of  wild  Highland  fling 
performed  their  acrobatic  feats  with  consummate  grace. 
No  wonder  the  natives  imagine  the  dance-loving  Nereids 
for  ever  moving  in  this  graceful  syrtos.  As  they  revolved 
round  and  round  the  dancers  seemed  scarcely  to  touch 
the  ground,  so  light  was  their  step. 

As  a  finale  to  the  wedding  feast  the  game  of  pack- 
saddle  was  played  :  the  bestman,  with  a  packsaddle  tied 


STORM'STAYED  AT  SIKINOS.  191 

on  his  back,  and  another  man,  with  the  same  awkward 
encumbrance,  perform  a  sort  of  tournament  There  is 
a  subtle  meaning  in  their  performance  which  amused 
the  guests  and  made  the  bride  look  shy,  and  thus  was 
concluded  the  wedding  at  Sikinos.  At  the  neighbouring 
island  of  Pholygandros  the  agony  is  even  more  pro- 
longed, lasting  eight  days  sometimes;  on  the  Tuesday 
they  always  have  what  is  called  the  *  mother-in-law's 
feast,'  another  dinner  followed  by  another  dance. 

On  the  following  day  our  catque  came  to  take  us  to 
Pholygandros,  and  we  bade  farewell  to  our  hospitable 
friends ;  as  we  sailed  slowly  away  on  an  azure  sea 
it  looked  so  calm,  and  the  islands  so  placid  in  their 
framework  of  lapis  lazuliy  we  could  hardly  believe  that 
we  had  been  storm-stayed  at  Sikinos. 

NOTE. 
On  the  Tefnple  of  Pythian  Apollo  and  the  old  Town  of  Sikinos » 

The  temple  of  Apollo  at  Sikinos  is  eleven  yards  fourteen  inches 
long  by  eight  yards  wide,  and  the  entrance,  curiously  enough,  is  to 
the  west.  Outside  the  temple  is  a  little  stone  bench,  now  used  at 
the  feasts  for  the  seats  of  the  priests  and  magnates ;  one  of  these 
stones  is  covered  with  an  ancient  inscription,  which  is  fast  dis- 
appearing, and  which  states  that  it  is  a  votive  tablet  (>/r^0io"/Aa)  set 
up  by  the  Sikiniotes  in  the  temple  of  Pythian  Apollo ;  from  the 
lettering  we  may  date  this  inscription  about  the  first  half  of  the 
second  century  B.c.  All  around  are  bits  of  marble  let  into  the 
walls,  one  being  the  remains  of  a  statue  of  indifferent  workmanship. 

The  outer  walls  of  the  temple  are  built  of  various-sized  colossal 
stones,  after  the  fashion  of  Hellenic  buildings,  and  the  comers  are 
neatly  finished  off.  To  the  east  is  an  apse  let  out  for  the  altar  of 
the  Christian  church,  but  from  the  plainness  of  this  wall  and  the 
nature  of  the  foundations  it  is  quite  obvious  that  no  entrance  ever 
existed  here.  On  the  south  side  the  wall  is  very  deep,  and  the 
Christians  evidently  found  it  necessary  to  support  it  with  buttresses, 
made  for  the  most  part  out  of  fragments  of  the  old  roof;  hence  to 


192  THE  CYCLADES. 

its  Christian  occupation  we  owe  the  preservation  of  the  relic.  We 
entered  between  two  pillars,  which  from  base  to  capital  are  five 
yards  high.  The  capitals  are  Doric,  with  two  rings  ;  the  columns 
are  unfluted,  and  stand  on  round  bases.  The  vestibule  is  the 
modem /r^«^wJ,  the  roof  of  which  is  formed  out  of  stone  beams 
resting  on  the  pillars  and  on  the  walls  of  the  cella^  thus  forming 
three  divisions.  On  these  beams  stone  slabs  rest  in  two  cases,  and 
in  the  third  the  roof  has  been  opened  by  the  monks  to  make  room 
for  a  ladder. 

The  door  into  the  cella  is  handsome,  being  about  two  yards 
wide,  and  over  it  is  an  inscription,  now  quite  obliterated  with 
whitewash.  Round  the  temple  runs  a  cornice,  with  a  frieze  under 
it,  representing  a  stem  with  branches  coming  out  of  it  above  and 
below.  On  the  frieze  rests  a  toothed  cornice.  Inside  the  cella 
one  of  the  stones  of  the  floor  takes  up,  and  you  descend  by  a  ladder 
into  a  two-chambered  vault,  the  ceiling  of  which  is  vaulted,  and 
there  arc  places  for  tombs  around,  now  empty.  The  inner  chamber 
of  the  vault  is  walled  ofT  on  two  sides  from  the  outer,  and  is 
approached  by  a  narrow  passage.  In  the  church  there  is  a  tempe- 
Ion  of  considerable  merit,  screening  off  the  apse,  and  containing  on 
it  the  prized  picture  of  the  Madonna  of  Episcopi.  Several  banners 
and  the  usual  Church  decorations  hang  about,  which  strike  one  as 
odd  in  the  ruins  of  a  temple  of  Pythian  Apollo. 

Accompanied  l^y  the  proprietor  of  the  soil,  we  walked  through 
the  ancient  necropolis  of  Sikinos,  which  lies  where  probably  was 
once  a  sacred  road  from  the  town  to  the  temple.  Many  of  the 
graves  are  still  unopened,  and  would  doubtless  repay  research; 
and  if  it  had  not  been  for  that  keen  north  wind  I  had  hoped  to 
return  on  the  following  day  to  open  some  of  them,  but  the  storm 
prevented  me. 

A  bleaker  and  more  exposed  place  can  never  have  existed  than 
that  old  town  of  Sikinos.  It  covered  a  precipitous  height,  fiilly 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  and  from  the 
summit  the  rock  goes  down  on  the  north  side  fully  five  hundred 
feet  without  a  break.  The  rock  is  of  blue  marble,  covered  with  a 
yellow  lichen,  which  gives  it  an  exceedingly  rich  appearance.  Here 
and  there  out  of  crevices  grow  thick  bunches  of  wild  mastic  ;  ravens 
rush  out  of  their  eyries  and  croak  ;  quantities  of  partridges,  too, 
disturbed  by  the  unwonted  noise  of  human  voices,  take  flight. 
The  foundations  of  houses,  cisterns,  and  public  buildings  are  ex- 
tensive, all  of  the  same  blue  marble  stone  of  the  island ;  one  of 


STORM-STAYED  AT  SIKINOS.  193 

these  was  the  temple  of  Hermes  and  Dionysos,  as  an  inscription 
tells  us. 

As  a  romantic  spot  nothing  can  equal  the  old  town  of  Sikinos, 
as  from  the  little  chapel  of  St.  Marina,  on  the  summit,  you  look  on 
one  side  down  a  precipitous  cliff,  on  the  other  side  over  a  sloping 
field  of  ruins  ;  but  the  archaeological  value  of  Sikinos  is  centred  in 
the  temple  of  Apollo  down  in  the  hollow  below ;  there  is  but  little 
else  to  be  seen  of  any  tangible  value  on  the  island,  though  probably 
excavation  might  expose  some  treasures. 


O 


194  THE  CYCLADES. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

PHOLYGANDROS. 

A  STRING  of  island  rocks  almost  joins  Sikinos  to  Pholy- 
gandros —fantastic  barren  rocks,  which  sparkle  in  the 
sunshine,  and  of  which  we  got  to  know  every  form 
and  shape  during  that  long  day  of  patient  tacking, 
accomplishing  our  sail  of  twelve  miles  in  the  same  num- 
ber of  hours.  Of  all  the  islands  of  the  -/Egean  Sea 
Pholygandros  can  boast  of  the  most  majestic  coastline  ; 
in  fact,  I  doubt  if  it  can  be  equalled  anywhere.  A 
precipitous  line  of  rocks,  in  places  rising  i,i6o  feet 
above  the  sea,  forms  the  north-eastern  bulwark  ;  as  we 
approached  it  the  sun  had  set,  and  the  sky  was  lurid  with 
that  red  strange  light  which  astonished  the  world,  and 
particularly  the  superstitious  Greek  world,  in  the  winter 
of  1883-4.  The  water  was  almost  transparent,  and  its 
depths  looked  wonderfully  mysterious  as  we  glided  in 
amongst  the  rocks,  some  of  which  were  white  and  looked 
like  Nereids  come  to  drive  us  from  an  enchanted  shore. 
Such  scenes  as  this  make  one  realise  how  easy  it  has 
been  to  imagine  the  phantasies  of  the  *  Odyssey '  and  of 
modern  folklore. 

When  we  saw  the  spot  again  by  daylight  we  won- 
dered exceedingly  how  we  had  been  able  to  climb  up 
on  hands  and  knees ;  it  is  known  as  the  Plaka,  a  flat 
rock  which  slopes  down  into  the  sea  at  an  angle  of  fifty 
degrees,  and  which  is  slippery  in  winter  with  running 


PHOL  YGANDROS,  195 

water ;  after  scaling  which  we  had  a  tremendous  scramble 
in  the  dark  up  to  the  town,  which  is  built  on  the  edge  of 
the  cliff,  750  feet  above  us  ;  and  the  path  in  winter  up  this 
side  of  the  island  is  little  better  than  a  waterfall. 

On  reaching  habitations  we  inquired  where  the 
demarch  lived.  *  Outside,*  was  the  stoical  reply.  *  Out- 
side what?'  we  asked.  *Not  Inside,'  was  the  angry 
rejoinder  ;  and  no  further  information  could  we  get  out 
of  the  man.  We  pursued  our  way  in  search  of  a  more 
intelligent  informant,  until  at  length  we  discovered  that 
Pholygandros  boasts  of  only  one  town,  which  is  walled, 
and  called  *  Inside  *  (/x^o-a),  and  of  a  colony  outside  this 
wall,  of  better-class  houses,  which  is  called  *  Outside ' 
(I'^G))  ;  and  a  Pholygandriote  knows  of  no  other  names 
but  these. 

Our  new  host  was  a  very  different  man  from  our 
last.  He  was  horribly  modern  in  all  his  ideas  ;  seven- 
teen years  ago  he  had  travelled  and  gone  as  far  as 
Paris,  and  since  then  he  had  lived  with  but  one  object — 
namely,  that  of  modernising  his  island  and  rooting  out 
superstitions.  He  had  been  in  office  as  demarch  for  ten 
years,  and  boasted  greatly  of  his  improvements :  how 
he  had  made  a  good  road  from  the  town  down  to  the 
southern  harbour,  where  we  should  have  landed  if  the- 
wind  had  been  favourable ;  how  he  had  encouraged  educa- 
tion and  new  ideas  in  agriculture :  and  concluded  by  say- 
ing, *  You  will  find  our  island  a  little  Paris  after  Sikinos.' 

No  one  can  realise  the  power  a  demarch  possesses 

in  these  far-off  islands  in  the  ^gean  Sea,  especially  in 

one   like   Pholygandros,  where   the   steamer   does   not 

touch,  and  where  sometimes  in  winter  they  are  weeks 

without  a  post.    He  is  a  sort  of  king,  or  rather  president 

of  a  small  republic,  elected  every  three  years  ;  and  at 

these  elections  party  spirit  is  most  fearfully  strained  ; 

o  2 


196  THE  CYCLADES. 


for  every  Greek  is  a  politician,  and  talks  politics  at  his 
cafe,  at  his  social  gatherings,  and  everywhere,  just  as  his 
forefathers  did  before  him. 

The  Pholygandriotes  do  not  care  one  jot  about  the 
Government  at  Athens ;  they  have  two  joint  members 
with  Melos  and  Kimolos  and  three  other  islands  ;  but 
they  do  not  care  a  bit  about  their  election — it  is  into 
the  election  of  a  demarch  that  they  throw  all  their  in- 
terest. For  Athens,  a  king,  and  a  parliament  seem  such 
miles  away  to  them,  it  does  not  matter  much  what  they 
do  ;  the  demarch  is  elected  by  them,  and  is  theirs  alone, 
and  in  his  rise  or  fall  all  the  local  interest  centres. 

Of  course  there  are  two  parties  in  Pholygandros  : 
one  is  an  aristocratic  party,  headed  by  one  Venier,  of 
an  old  Venetian  family,  and  seconded  by  Themistocles 
Mavrojenes,  one  of  the  great  Pariote  family,  who  once 
could  boast  of  a  hospodar  of  Wallachia  as  one  of  their 
members ;  and  then  there  is  the  democratic  party, 
headed  by  our  new  host  the  demarch,  which  just  now 
is  in  the  ascendant.  At  the  last  election  they  had  a 
furious  contest ;  blood  had  not  been  spilt  or  murders 
committed,  as  was  the  case  at  Siphnos  on  a  similar 
occasion,  but  party  spirit  ran  so  high,  and  still  continues 
so,  that  Dr.  Venier  and  the  democratic  demarch  are  not 
yet  on  speaking  terms.  One  day,  during  our  stay,  our 
hostess  came,  in  grief,  to  ask  our  advice  about  her  father, 
who  was  very  ill  and  at  the  point  of  death,  she  feared, 
so  that  the  day  before  they  had  given  him  the  *  prayer 
oil  *  {zhx^Xaiov)  \  but  still  he  refused  to  have  Dr.  Venier 
called  in— his  hated  political  rival.  *  He  would  rather 
die,'  she  said,  *  unattended  by  a  physician  than  have  that 
man  in  his  house.*  It  was  evident  that  nothing  could 
be  done  for  the  old  man,  whose  days  were  numbered  ;  so 
we  tried  to  change  the  subject  from  the  hated  Venier, 


PHOL  YG AN  BROS.  1 97 


as  the  name  seemed  to  raise  our  hostess'  ire  exceedingly 
and  tried  to  console  her  about  her  father,  and  to  find  out 
about  their  customs  in  Pholygandros  at  funerals.  *  Well/ 
said  she,  *we  shall  be  busy  when  the  old  man  passes 
away.  No  one  is  more  respected  than  he,  and  such  a  lot 
of  people  would  have  to  be  invited  to  the  "  grief  table  "  ' ; 
whereupon  she  was  asked  to  explain  what  this  meant 
It  appears  that  in  this  island  when  a  death  has  occurred 
cooking  is  not  deemed  correct  in  the  house  for  two  or 
three  days,  so  the  relatives  and  friends  bring  food — *  bitter 
food  *  {7nKpo<f>dyia)y  as  they  call  it — and  spread  a  *  grief 
table '  in  the  house  of  mourning.  They  hang  the  rooms 
with  black,  and  remove  the  inevitable  crochet  from  the 
sofas  for  a  season.  I  felt  an  inward  desire  that,  if  the 
old  man  must  die  soon,  he  might  die  whilst  we  were 
there,  that  we  might  hear  the  lamentations  and  see  the 
customs  ;  but  he  did  not  die,  and  again  we  were  told  to 
put  off  our  funeral  enquiries  till  we  got  to  Mykonos. 

The  prayer  oil  was  administered  to  the  old  man,  as 
we  had  been  told  ;  so  I  asked  our  hostess  to  explain  the 
ceremony.  *  Here  in  Pholygandros  we  generally  have 
five  priests  to  perform  the  ceremony  :  a  table  is  set  in 
the  sick  man's  room,  on  which  is  placed  a  dish  of  wheat, 
and  a  vessel  on  the  wheat,  into  which  the  oil  is  poured  ; 
five  pieces  of  stick  with  cotton  tied  round  them  are 
stuck  into  the  wheat ;  the  gospel  is  laid  on  this,  and  the 
five  priests  stand  round  with  their  chasubles  {(f>oLv6\Lov) 
on,  and  sing  tropceUy  and  read  the  suitable  portions  of 
Scripture  whilst  the  censer  is  waved  in  the  room.  At 
the  end  of  all  this  the  chief  priest  dips  a  twig  into  the 
oil  and  makes  a  sign  of  the  cross  on  the  sick  man,  who 
kisses  at  the  same  time  the  proferred  Bible,  and  then  is 
left  to  die  in  the  odour  of  sanctity.* 

Here  again  is  the  wheat  {kqKKv^o)  in  connection 


198 


THE  CYC  LADES, 


v^ 


with  death,  and  in  this  place  I  must  relate  another  cere- 
/  mony  I  saw  at  Aigiale,  in  the  island  of  Amorgos,  which 
/  bears  on  the  same  subject  It  was  on  the  All  Saints* 
Day  of  the  Greek  Church,  and  every  householder  of 
Aigiale  sent  to  the  church  a  plate  of  boiled  corn,  gene- 
rally carried  by  an  old  woman  with  the  top-heavy  troulos 
costume  of  that  island.  She  then  poured  the  corn  into 
a  basket  placed  before  the  high  altar  whilst  the  service 
was  going  on,  and  into  this  mass  of  boiled  corn  she 
stuck  her  lighted  candle.  Some  of  the  richer  inhabitants 
sent  private  plates,  which  were  arranged  in  front  of  the 
tempelon  and  adorned  with  sesame  seeds  and  elaborate 
\  patterns  of  almonds  and  raisins.  After  the  service  was 
over  all  repaired  to  the  square  in  front  of  the  church, 
where  the  chief  priest  sat  on  his  throne,  a  stone  bench 
with  stone  arms  in  front  of  the  church,  and  the  worthies 
of  the  place  around  him,  whilst  the  baskets  and  plates 
of  boiled  corn  were  distributed  to  all  who  could  squeeze 
near  enough  to  get  any.  Little  children  got  handker- 
chiefs full  of  it,  and  rushed  off  to  corners  to  devour  their 
feast,  and  general  hilarity  prevailed  *  in  memory  of  the 
departed.*  In  other  places  this  boiled  wheat  and  a 
similar  festival  takes  the  place  of  a  sort  of  harvest 
thanksgiving.  Strange  it  is  to  see  this  connection  between 
life  and  death  represented  in  the  old  way,  Demeter 
and  her  daughter  symbolical  always  of  *sown  in  cor- 
ruption to  rise  in  incorruption.* 

The  town  of  Pholygandros  rejoices  in  a  most  glorious 
situation.  *  Inside,*  or  the  old  fortified  town,  is  built  on 
the  edge  of  the  cliff,  so  that  it  only  requires  three  walls 
to  protect  it ;  the  fourth  side  looks  straight  down  the 
yawning  precipice,  so  that  there  is  no  excuse  for  dirt 
when  offal  can  be  thrown  down  750  feet  into  the  sea 
without  any  trouble  ;  yet  *  Inside  *  is  a  very  dirty  place 


PHOLYGANDROS,  199 

« 

indeed,  one  street  being  quite  impassable  from  the  mire 
of  pigs.  *  Outside/  on  the  contrary,  is  clean  and  well- 
paved,  in  every  way  prosperous,  being  the  pride  of  its 
ruler,  our  host,  the  demarch.  The  *  insiders  '  represent 
the  old  aristocracy,  who  are  slow  to  introduce  the  inno- 
vation of  cleanliness. 

There  are  lots  of  ovens  in  *  Outside  ' ;  but  they  only 
bake  one  day  a  week  in  Pholygandros,  and  a  busy, 
amusing  sight  it  is.  These  ovens  are  heated  first  of  all 
by  shoving  into  them  an  enormous  quantity  of  burning 
brushwood  (^KXahia), 

Loaves  of  bread  (KovXovpia)^  the  twisted  cakes  covered 
with  sesame,  irrjrra  (pasties)  are  all  arranged  on  long 
boards  awaiting  the  moment  when  the  oven  is  sufficiently 
heated,  and  the  burning  embers  of  the  brushwood  have 
been  swept  out.  Everybody  is  busy  and  gay,  rushing 
hither  and  thither  with  their  boards  covered  with  the 
weekly  supply  of  bread  :  after  seeing  a  bread-baking 
such  as  this  one  can  well  realise  the  point  of  a  riddle 
popular  in  these  parts : — 

Q.  A  black-faced  heifer  which  devours  brushwood  ? 
A.  An  oven. 

Towering  above  the  town  is  a  pointed  cliff  forming 
the  summit  of  that  wall  of  precipice  which  rises  straight 
out  of  the  sea.  On  the  summit  of  this  cliff  is  perched 
the  remains  of  a  castle,  which  once  belonged  to  the 
dukes  of  Naxos,  and  all  that  is  left  of  the  old  Hellenic 
town.  This  is  1,160  feet  above  the  sea,  but  what  one 
chiefly  sees  now  are  Roman  remains,  cisterns,  and  walls. 
Into  the  bell  tower  of  a  large  church  half-way  up  the 
hill,  dedicated  to  the  Assumption  of  the  Virgin,  is  let 
the  torso  of  a  Roman  figure,  and  in  the  church  itself 
there  are  traces  of  old  pillars.  Part  of  the  modern 
cemetery  is  bounded  by  an  old  Hellenic  wall,  just  below 


200  THE  CYCLADES, 


this  church  ;  and  a  wretched  cemetery  it  is,  with  only 
rough  stones  without  an  inscription  to  mark  the  graves. 
In  a  ruined  church  at  the  top  of  the  cliff  is  an  inscription 
of  the  date  of  Tiberius,  and  below,  near  the  town,  is  an 
Hellenic  one,  two  centuries  B.C.  A  few  remains  here 
and  there  have  been  found,  but  all  point  to  Pholygandros 
in  ancient  days  having  been  a  very  insignificant  place, 
far  inferior  to  Sikinos,  and  very  sparsely  inhabited. 

It  was  a  most  enchanting  day  that  we  chose  for  a 
visit  to  the  golden  grotto  of  Pholygandros.  Out  of 
politeness  the  demarch  determined  to  go  with  us  ;  he 
had  never  been  inside  it  he  said  ;  and  I  feel  convinced 
that  our  rebukes  urged  on  this  energetic  but  misguided 
man  to  undertake  a  task  for  which  by  reason  of  increasing 
years  he  was  totally  unfitted. 

We  rode  down  the  demarches  newly  paved  mule 
road  to  the  southern  harbour,  and  there  beheld  the 
maritime  importance  of  Pholygandros  as  compared  with 
Sikinos.  They  have  four  calfques  belonging  to  them, 
and  lots  of  fishing-boats,  and.  the  harbour,  though  small, 
shallow,  and  exposed  to  the  south,  is  deserving  of  the 
name.  A  small  colony  of  fishermen's  huts  forms  the 
port,  and  here  we  noticed  a  clever  little  contrivance 
which  they  fasten  to  their  nets  in  rough  weather  so  that 
they  may  know  where  to  find  them.  A  bell  is  hung 
from  two  bent  reeds,  which  form  a  little  dome  built  on 
some  flat  reeds,  and  around  the  bell  hang  stones  which 
strike  it  when  the  sea  is  rough.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  we 
were  struck  by  the  universal  use  of  the  gourd  for  all 
domestic  purposes.  A  gourd  with  a  long  handle  they 
will  put  on  the  table  for  a  decanter ;  small  gourds  cut 
in  half  serve  as  wine-glasses ;  gourds  with  handles  are 
used  by  every  fisherman  for  baling  water  out  of  his 
boat ;  they  are  used  for  floating  nets,  and  likewise  for 


PHOL  YGANDROS,  201 

sieves  through  which  milk  is  passed :  a  hole  is  made  at 
one  end,  and  a  piece  of  the  equally  useful  brushwood  is 
stuffed  into  it,  then  the  milk  passes  through  the  brush- 
wood and  is  strained.  Gourds  properly  prepared  are 
used  almost  exclusively  for  the  carrying  of  wine  on  a 
journey,  and  replace  bottles  in  a  country  where  the  wine 
is  quite  a  secondary  consideration  ;  for  you  pay  three- 
pence for  your  bottle  and  perhaps  a  halfpenny  for  the 
wine  that  is  in  it. 

We  got  into  a  small  boat  at  the  harbour,  and  were 
rowed  all  along  the  wonderful  line  of  cliff  to  where  the 
grotto  is  ;  a  cliff  which  rises  1,160  feet  straight  out  of  the 
sea,  without  a  break  or  a  ledge  to  catch  the  eye,  is  by  no 
means  a  common  sight,  and  this  cliff  extends  thus  for 
fully  two  miles.  The  formation  is  limestone  streaked 
with  iron,  and  here  and  there  a  few  tufts  of  green  relieve 
the  monotony,  the  whole  contrasting  wonderfully  with 
the  indigo  colour  of  the  sea  under  its  widespread  shadow. 
Arato,  an  old  writer,  tells  us  that  Pholygandros  was 
once  called  *  Iron,*  and  that  its  second  name  was  taken 
from  a  son  of  Minoa,  of  Crete  ;  it  well  deserves  the  name 
of  Iron,  for  this  wall  of  cliff  is  like  a  band  of  rusty  iron 
coming  out  of  the  sea.  We  were  rowed  close  up  to 
the  grotto,  the  entrance  to  which  is  about  thirty  feet 
above  the  sea,  and  thirty  feet  of  apparently  horizontal 
rock. 

It  was  much  easier  to  tell  why  it  was  called  the 
golden  grotto  than  to  get  into  it,  for  the  iron  in  the 
surrounding  rock  makes  it  look  like  a  black  picture  set 
in  a  frame  of  gold";  but  our  climb  to  it  was  fearful,  and 
the  energetic  demarch  won  our  infinite  respect  by 
ultimately  accomplishing  it.  Anciently  this  grotto  was 
approached  by  steps  from  above,  which  are  now  worn 
away  ;  they  led  up  to  the  old  town  on  the  cliff,  and  their 


202  THE  CYCLADES. 


existence  was  discovered  in  1837  by  Kyrios  Latre  ;  but 
now  the  only  way  of  reaching  the  grotto  from  the  land- 
side  is  by  being  let  down  by  ropes  for  unpleasant 
distances. 

Inside  the  grotto  is  curious  and  adorned  with 
stalactites,  like  cathedral  stalls,  but  nothing  worthy  of 
admiration  after  one  has  seen  the  grotto  of  Antiparos  ;  * 
inside,  however,  it  has  some  ancient  cisterns,  which 
interested  us,  still  full  of  water,  and  the  haunt  of  count- 
less pigeons.  There  are  three  of  them — one  round,  one 
square,  and  one  semicircular — and  appearances  point  to 
its  having  been  a  place  from  whence  the  inhabitants  in 
times  of  siege  could  get  their  water ;  also  it  appears  to 
have  been  used  as  a  cemetery,  for  rows  of  tombs  have 
been  found  here  and  marble  statuettes.  We  turned  over 
the  thin  sandy  soil  with  which  the  bottom  is  covered, 
and  found  quantities  of  ancient  broken  bits  of  pottery 
of  a  coarse  description  ;  and  it  struck  me  as  a  place 
that  might  repay  a  little  excavation. ' 

It  was  all  very  well  to  have  climbed  up — the  descent 
was  quite  another  thing.  I  would  almost  warrant  that 
the  demarch  had  never  been  so  terrified  in  his  life  as  he 
was  then  ;  our  two  sailors  helped'  him  down  slowly  by 
steadying  his  tottering  steps  and  finding  foothold  for 
them.  Beads  of  perspiration  stood  on  his  brow  when  he 
reached  the  boat,  and  if  future  travellers  visit  the  golden 
grotto  of  Pholygandros  I  feel  confident  that  he  will  not 
attempt  to  accompany  them,  but  remain  prudently  in 
the  boat  below. 

Pholygandros  is  an  island  of  most  extraordinary 
shape,  and  if  we  had  not  Arato's  authority  for  deriving 
its  name  from  Minoa's  son  we  might  be  tempted  to 
speculate  that  it  had  something  to  do  with  a  polypus,  for 

»    Vide  p.  398. 


PHOL  YGANDROS.  203 

the  h  is  only  a  modern  innovation.  From  the  central 
height  of  the  island  legs  stretch  out  into  the  sea  in  every 
direction,  and  this  central  height  divides  Pholygandros 
into  two  parts,  one  of  which  is  a  perfect  wilderness  of 
stones  and  the  other  very  fertile,  possessing  smiling  valleys 
and  mountain  slopes  cultivated  up  to  the  very  summit. 

Of  course  the  highest  mountain  is  called  Mount 
Prophet  Elias,  and  close  to  it  is  the  summit  of  St. 
Eleutherios,  with  a  little  church  dedicated  to  that  saint 
at  the  top.  When  there  is  a  drought  all  the  Pholy- 
gandriotes  with  the  priests  and  the  sacred  pictures  of 
the  Madonna  walk  in  procession  first  to  the  top  of 
Mount  Prophet  Elias,  where  they  kneel  around  his 
shrine  and  pray  for  rain  ;  after  which  they  go  and  do 
likewise  at  the  shrine  of  St.  Eleutherios.  *  There  is 
quite  a  little  historical  interest  associated  with  our 
Church  of  St.  Eleutherios/  old  Themistocles  Mavrojenes 
said  to  me  that  evening.  *  Seventy  years  ago  there  lived 
a  pirate  who  annoyed  the  Pholygandriotes  excessively* 
They  prayed  and  prayed  to  St.  Eleutherios  for  his  death, 
and  vowed  a  church  to  the  saint's  honour  whenever  that 
event  should  take  place.  The  pirate,  however,  would 
not  die,  and  for  many  years  continued  his  depredations, 
until  at  last,  at  a  ripe  old  age,  he  was  gathered  to  his 
fathers  ;  and  our  townspeople,  who  evidently  think  that 
no  limitations  can  be  brought  to  bear  on  the  answering 
of  a  prayer,  felt  in  duty  bound  to  erect  a  church.  It  is  a 
wretched  little  concern,  however,'  concluded  Mavrojenes 
apologetically ;  *  if  he  had  been  more  prompt  in  his 
succour  St.  Freedom  would  have  had  a  better  temple 
erected  in  his  honour.' 

The  day  before  we  left  Pholygandros  was  a  very  gay 
one  for  us.  Themistocles  Mavrojenes,  being  a  privileged 
person  and  decidedly  shrewd,  managed  to  keep  in  with 


204  THE  CYCLADES, 

both  parties,  and  was  the  bearer  of  a  message  from  the 
hostile  camp.  Dr.  Venier  presented  his  compliments  to 
us  and  expressed  his  regret  that,  his  relations  with  the 
demarch  being  so  strained,  he  could  not  possibly  give 
himself  the  pleasure  of  personally  paying  us  his  respects, 
but  should  be  delighted  to  welcome  us  in  his  own  house. 

Dr.  Venier  lived  in  the  *  Inside,'  in  an  old-fashioned 
house,  and  from  him  we  learnt  the  sad  truth  that  under 
the  present  horrible  regime  all  the  delightful  old  customs 
and  costumes  were  being  abandoned.  'Twenty  years 
ago  you  could  not  have  seen  quainter  customs  than  here 
in  all  the  archipelago,  and  now  even  Sikinos  beats  us.' 
But  I  replied,  in  the  words  of  the  demarch, '  Pholygandros 
is  a  little  Paris  as  compared  to  Sikinos,'  and  I  was  sorry 
I  did  so,  for  the  ground  on  which  I  was  treading  was 
treacherous  ;  for  the  future  I  decided  to  leave  Greek 
politics  alone. 

Only  some  of  the  richer  inhabitants,  and  amongst 
them  Dr.  Venier,  have  kept  their  old  dresses,  ornaments, 
and  lace  ;  the  poorer  people  have  by  this  time  sold  all 
theirs,  and  Dr.  Venier  showed  us  some  very  lovely 
things.  The  ancient  headdress  seems  to  have  been 
the  same  as  that  worn  still  in  Siphnos  *  and  is  also  called 
the  pina  :  besides  this  Dr.  Venier  had  some  exquisite 
gold  and  silver  lace  and  lovely  silk  embroidery  which 
should  be  in  a  museum.  On  King  Otho's  visit  to 
Pholygandros  he  was  entertained  by  Dr.  Venier's  father, 
when  Dr.  Venier  was  still  a  boy,  but  he  remembered 
quite  well  that  Queen  Amalia  had  said  that  she  had  not 
slept  all  night  for  admiration  of  the  lovely  embroidery 
with  which  her  bed  was  hung.  Dr.  Venier  showed  them 
to  us,  with  pride,  as  articles  which  royalty  had  used. 
The  curtains  were  made  of  striped  silk  gauze,  with  gold 

»   Vide  p.  31. 


i 


PHOL  YGANDROS.  205 

lace  insertion ;  the  pillow-cases  were  of  red  silk  edged  with 
gold  lace  ;  the  sheets  were  edged  with  some  of  the  same 
gold  lace,  only  wider ;  and  as  for  the  coverlet,  it  was 
made  of  the  richest  brocades  I  ever  saw.  The  valances 
and  bed-tops  were  all  hung  with  old  Greek  point,  but 
then  the  room  was  a  tiny,  ill-lighted  hole,  which  a 
servant  in  England  would  turn  up  her  nose  at.  I  do 
not  wonder  that  Queen  Amalia  did  not  sleep. 

After  a  pleasant  afternoon  spent  in  the  company  of 
the  Veniers,  we  returned  to  our  host's  house,  and  went 
into  spiteful  raptures  over  the  beauty  of  Dr.  Venier's 
embroideries.  It  was  in  vain  that  the  democratic  de- 
march  smiled  and  said  that  they  cared  for  none  of  those 
things,  his  wife's  jealousy  was  thoroughly  aroused  and 
told  a  different  tale.  She  went  to  her  cupboard  and 
produced  all  she  could  find  of  lace  and  embroidery ; 
but,  alas !  her  stock  was  very  inferior  to  what  we  had 
seen. 

This  is  always  the  way  to  see  and  hear  anything  in 
these  islands.  Tell  everybody  the  beautiful  things  you 
have  seen  and  heard  in  other  islands,  and  you  are  sure 
to  arrive  at  the  best  they  have.  Jealousy  is  wonderfully 
developed  in  these  parts.  ' 

That  evening  old  Themistocles  Mavrojenes  gave  us 
an  invitation  to  *  a  table '  at  his  house  in  the  *  Inside  * ;  so 
when  it  was  dark  we  sallied  forth  to  our  meal,  with  the 
aid  of  a  lantern.  The  domestic  who  conducted  us  was 
not  accustomed  to  dinner  parties,  and  led  us  through 
the  kitchen,  to  Mrs.  Mavrojenes'  dismay,  who  was 
giving  the  finishing  touch  to  her  dishes  of  risoglio ;  our 
host  was  very  angry  with  the  man,  and  set  to  work 
to  talk  about  his  distinguished  ancestor,  the  prince  of 
Wallachia. 

We  did  not  fare  at  all  badly,  and  for  the  first  time  in 


2o6  THE  CYCLADES. 


the  islands  did  our  hostess  sit  at  the  top  of  the  table^  in 
I  European  fashion.  We  had  soup,  and  the  meat  which 
had  been  boiled  in  it,  served  up  with  tomatoes.  We  had 
an  excellent  dish  called  ViairpaKia — meat  chopped  up 
with  a  little  rice,  onions  and  spices,  and  then  wrapped 
up  in  vine  leaves,  which  they  keep  in  pickles  for  this  pur- 
pose— over  it  was  thrown  a  delicious  sauce  of  egg  and 
lemon. 

Courses  of  cold  fish  (cuttle-fish,  and  red  mullet)  fol- 
lowed next,  and  then  came  the  rice  and  milk  pudding 
(risoglio)y  with  an  elaborately  stencilled  pattern  of  grated 
nutmeg  on  the  top.  These  dishes  and  lots  of  little 
plates  containing  olives,  capers,  &c.  were  scattered  about 
to  adorn  the  table  all  the  while.  It  was  quite  evident 
that  Themistocles  Mavrojenes  knew  how  things  should 
be  done  as  behoved  the  descendant  of  so  illustrious  an 
ancestor. 

Wine  passed  plentifully  enough  during  dinner,  but 
with  dessert  Greeks  never  drink  wine,  but  crack  their 
walnuts  and  munch  their  almonds  with  nothing  to 
wash  them  down.  Long  before  the  meal  was  over  guests 
began  to  troop  in,  and  were  very  grateful  for  occasional 
handfuls  of  almonds,  raisins,  and  nuts  which  our  hostess 
passed  to  them  from  time  to  time ;  finally,  we  wound 
up  the  entertainment  with  a  general  smoke  and  cups  of 
Turkish  coffee. 

Next  morning  we  left  Pholygandros,  and  were  sur- 
prised to  find  our  boat,  which  hitherto  had  had  a  white 
sail,  now  with  a  rich  coloured  one  ;  the  boatmen  had 
found  some  red  mud,  in  which  they  had  dyed  it  their 
favourite  colour.  Certainly  it  looked  very  picturesque, 
and  contrasted  well  with  the  green  boat  Another  sur- 
prise awaited  us  in  the  shape  of  an  old  woman  and  a 
big  box  ;  we  expostulated  a  little,  saying  that  we  had 


PHOL  YGANDROS.  207 

hired  the  boat  for  ourselves  ;  but  they  said  there  was  so 
little  opportunity  for  her  to  get  away  that  she  should 
be  treated  as  ballast,  and  so  forth  ;  so  we  made  no 
further  objection.  They  shoved  her  and  her  box  on 
board  with  little  respect,  put  her  into  a  dark  and 
stinking  hold  with  our  servant,  and  fastened  the  lid 
down.  We  heard  nothing  more  of  her  until  we  arrived 
at  our  destination,  except  terrible  yells  and  groans  when 
it  became  rough,  for  the  Greek  island  women  suffer 
more  audibly  from  sea-sickness  than  any  people  I  am 
acquainted  with. 

Our  voyage  was  a  very  characteristic  one  in  these 
islands.  We  planned  to  go  to  Antiparos,  and  we  started 
with  a  favourable  though  slight  breeze.  This  died  away 
altogether  before  we  got  an  hour  on  our  way ;  the 
exceeding  heat  of  the  sun,  and  ominous  clouds  on  the 
horizon,  made  our  sailors  anxious  about  the  upshot.  We 
said  we  would  sail  for  Amorgos  if  possible,  and  started 
in  that  direction,  for  the  breeze  was  freshening  from  the 
west.  Before  very  long  the  breeze  became  too  fresh,  and 
our  men  insisted  on  running  for  los ;  but  we  found  we 
could  by  no  means  go  round  the  northern  point  of 
Sikinos,  so  we  had  to  retrace  our  way  almost  back  to 
the  harbour  of  Pholygandros. 

It  soon  began  to  blow  with  a  vengeance  ;  it  was  im- 
possible to  make  for  los.  *  Let  us  run  for  Santorin,'  we 
said,  getting  more  and  more  disgusted  at  our  fate. 
But  no ;  hardly  had  we  gone  a  mile  than  our  captain 
said  it  would  not  be  safe ;  we  must  put  in  to  Sikinos,  on 
the  southern  side.  What  horrors  !  were  we  again  going  to 
be  storm-stayed  at  Sikinos  }  We  thought  of  the  demarches 
damp  house  and  the  cold  and  misery  of  the  place.  We  saw, 
to  our  delight,  the  Sikinos  caique  put  off  and  make  for 
los.   '  Surely,*  we  said,  *  if  jthat  craft  can  go  we  can ;  *  but  it 


2o8  THE  CYCLADES, 


put  back  again  almost  immediately,  and  our  hearts  sank 
within  us. 

In  our  despair  we  implored  our  captain  to  make  an 
attempt  to  reach  los,  and,  the  weather  having  taken  a 
favourable  turn,  he  promised  to  try.  Though  much  tossed 
about  and  drenched  with  the  waves,  we  reached  our  haven 
in  safety  shortly  after  lo  o'clock,  after  a  day's  bitter  ex- 
perience of  the  uncertainty  of  caique-sailing.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  make  any  plans  beforehand  in  the  winter  time ; 
it  is  not  where  you  will  go,  but  where  you  can  get,  when 
amongst  the  islands  where  steamers  do  not  touch. 

Our  good  friends  at  los  were  delighted  at  our  return, 
having  had  a  prognostication  of  it,  and  entertained  us 
hospitably  till  the  steamer  came  to  carry  us  away. 


209 


CHAPTER   X. 

THE  DEATH-WAILS  OF   MYKONOS. 

Everywhere  in  the  Cyclades  we  were  told  that  when 
we  came  to  Mykonos  we  should  hear  the  best  lamenta- 
tions over  the  dead  that  exist  in  Greece :  that  barren 
Mykonos  had  this  one  unenviable  speciality  ;  nowhere 
else  could  the  wailing  women  (jwipoktr^urrai)  sing  over 
the  dead  such  stirring,  heart-rending  dirges  as  there.  So 
we  went  to  Mykonos  with  the  firm  determination  of  wait- 
ing there  until  somebody  died,  and  in  the  cold  change- 
able days  of  March  we  did  not  anticipate  that  we  should 
be  long  delayed. 

We  crossed  over  from  Syra  in  the  tricandira  of  a 
Hydriote  fisherman  ;  and  good  cause  we  had  to  be  thank- 
ful that  we  had  chosen  these  sailors  and  their  trustworthy 
boat,  for  the  sea  was  lashed  angrily  by  a  southern  gale, 
and  unpleasant  thoughts  occurred  to  us  that  our  purpose 
in  going  to  Mykonos  to  hear  a  death-wail  was  an  ill- 
omened  one,  and  might  end  disastrously  to  ourselves. 
But  the  boats  from  Hydra  are  good ;  they  have  osier 
instead  of  canvas  bulwarks. — wattled  osiers,  the  ^Xxr/apla 
which  grow  in  mountain  streams,*  and  which,  I  think, 
must  have  formed  the  bulwarks  which  Ulysses  made  for 
his  two-decked  raft  when  he  left  the  charmed  island  of 
Kalypso.     Two  islands  in  the  ^Egean  Sea  (Hydra  and 

*   Vide  p.  141. 

p 


2IO  THE  CYC  LADES, 


Psara)  still  have  these  bulwarks,  and  these  boats  are  the 
best.  We  had  to  take  down  our  sail  half-way,  and  put 
up  a  smaller  one,  which  was  an  unpleasant  process  in  a 
pitching  sea  ;  but  we  had  time  to  admire  our  primitive 
sail-rings,  which  were  made  out  of  cow's  horn  cut  into 
rings.  Elsewhere  we  had  seen  vine-tendrils  used  for  this 
purpose ;  but  they  are  not  nearly  so  satisfactory,  for 
whenever  a  good  gust  filled  the  sails  one  or  two  were 
sure  to  give  way. 

The  view  of  Mykonos  from  the  sea  is  attractive :  it 
is  a  considerable  town  composed  of  white  houses,  with 
wooden  balconies,  which  are  built  for  the  most  part  on 
a  promontory  which  juts  out  into  the  sea.  A  regiment 
of  windmills  coming  right  down  the  hillside  forms  a 
conspicuous  object  from  afar,  and  dotted  about  here  and 
there  are  some  of  those  quaint  dovecotes  of  which  we 
afterwards  saw  better  specimens  on  Tenos.  At  the  end 
of  the  promontory  is  all  that  is  left  of  a  mediaeval  tower 
which  once  protected  the  harbour.  There  is  a  Byzantine 
church,  buried  in  houses,  and  there  is  a  tall,  gaunt  house, 
of  peculiar  structure,  built  by  the  Russians  in  1777,  who 
intended  to  make  Mykonos  their  headquarters  in  the 
Cyclades.  This  house  has  now  come  in  very  well  for 
Government  purposes — it  serves  as  the  demarcheion,  and 
the  public  school  is  held  in  it  Some  of  the  houses  of 
Mykonos  are  well  built  and  more  decorative  than  is  usual 
in  these  island  towns  ;  many  of  them  have  quaint  chim- 
neys, with  brick  patterns,  and  a  dove  at  the  top — some- 
thing quite  original  in  house  architecture. 

In  the  middle  of  the  harbour,  joined  to  the  quay  by 
an  arched  bridge — recalling  a  Venetian  canal  bridge  to 
one's  mind — and  built  on  a  rock,  is  a  little  white  church, 
with  vaulted  roof,  dedicated  to  the  modern  Poseidon, 
St.   Nicholas.      Here  the  sailors  worship  their   patron 


THE  DEATH-WAILS  OF  MYKONOS.  211 


saint,  and  at  Mykonos  nearly  every  household  possesses 
a  sailor  amongst  its  number  ;  consequently  St.  Nicholas 
and  his  feast  are  in  high  repute.  In  our  bedroom  was 
an  eikon  of  St.  Nicholas  painted  on  the  inside  of  a 
crab's  shell,  the  back  of  which  was  gilded  ;  and  the 
sailors  here  have  many  songs  about  their  patron  saint : 
how  he  has  saved  them  in  the  hour  of  need  ;  how  he  in- 
vented the  rudder  ;  and  how  he  sits  at  the  helm,  whilst 
Christ  is  in  the  bows,  and  the  Virgin  in  the  middle  of 
his  boat. 

Our  first  friend  in  Mykonos  bore  the  high-sounding '^l^^n  >/\^u 
name  of  ]^leologos  ;  it  is  a  common  one  in  the  islands,  t^ 
Once  we  had  a  muleteer  who  bore  the  name  of  the  last 
line  of  Emperors  of  the  East.  He  gave  us  coffee,  and 
was  very  specious  ;  but  our  second  and  staunchest  friend 
was  Demarch  Kalogeras,  which  being  translated  means 
*  Monk.'  The  Monks  have  quite  a  mansion  by  the  shore, 
and  a  pleasure  garden  on  the  hillside  ;  they  live  in 
European  style,  and  Demarch  Monk,  as  the  sovereign 
lord  of  Mykonos  and  the  adjacent  Delian  isles,  has' 
somewhat  to  say  to  excavation,  and  jealously  guards 
the  treasures  which  have  come  from  Delos  in  a  dingy 
museum  in  a  back  street,  of  which  more  anon.  Every- 
body in  Mykonos  has  a  little  museum — scraps  of  marble 
let  into  their  houses,  a  few  lamps,  coins,  and  other 
treasures  which  have  come  from  the  neighbouring  mine 
of  antiquities. 

It  cost  me  much  trouble  and  thought  to  introduce  the 

subject  I  had  at  heart.    I  spoke  of  the  changeableness  of 

the  weather,  the  prevalence  of  pulmonary  diseases  at  this 

season  of  the  year,  and  so  forth  ;  if  it  had  been  a  wedding, 

or  a  christening,  or  a  dance  I  had  wished  to  study,  there 

would  have  Ijeen  no  difficulty  about  it ;  but  to  have  to 

admit  that  my  cherished  wish  was  to  attend  a  Mykoniote 

p  2 


212  THE  CYCLADES, 


\ 


fiineral  was  a  very  delicate  subject ;  I  never  felt  a  more 
heartless  wretch. 

After  a  little  manoeuvring  I  learnt  that  two  or  three 
Mykoniotes  were  in  extremis ;  that  a  young  Mykoniote 
had  lately  died  at  Athens,  and  that  the  family  were 
determined  to  have  the  customary  lamentation  for  one 
who  had  died  abroad  ('foSt  or  i^oStos  dprjvos).  Nobody 
could  be  kinder  than  Mrs.  Monk  when  she  had  once 
warmed  to  the  subject,  evincing  considerable  pride  in 
describing  what  I  was  pleased  to  call  the  speciality  of 
her  island  ;  and  from  my  conversation  with  her  I  learnt 
much  about  a  Greek's  conception  of  death. 

The  idea  of  death  in  the  mind  of  a  modern  Greek  is 
distinctly  pagan  :  death  to  them  is  solely  the  deprivation 
of  the  good  things  of  this  life  ;  their  minds  do  not  seem 
to  be  capable  of  looking  forward  to  a  future  beyond  the 
*  dark  grave '  and  the  *  black  earth.'     Hades  is  the  desti- 
nation of  the  dead,  Charon  is  their  ever-watchful  guar- 
dian ;  punishments  for  sin  are  carried  on  in  Tartarus, 
in  the  fiery  river  (irvpcvos  iroTafios),  the  Phlegethon  of 
antiquity.    Christian  teaching  has  adapted  to  itself  rather 
than  obliterated  ancient  myths.     The  great  authority  for 
all  the  horrid  frescoes  and  ideas  represented  in  the  Greek 
Church  is  derived  from  that  wonderful  document  entitled 
the  Apocalypse  of  the  Virgin,  in  which  it  is  related  how 
the  mother  of  Christ  was  one  day  engaged  in  prayer 
on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  conceived  a  desire  to  see 
the  chastened  in  hell.     She  asked  St.  Michael  to  take 
her,  and  as  he  conducted  her  he  explained  the  punish- 
ments and  crimes  of  each  person  they  there  met.     The 
archangel  Michael  is  the  modern  Hermes,  the  angel  of 
death,  and  in  the  representations  of  him,  usually  to  be 
seen  over  the  door  entering  into  the  part  of  the  church 
consecrated  to  the  sacred  mysteries,  he  is  depicted  as  a 


THE  DEATH-WAILS  OF  MYKONOS,  213 

warrior  having  in  his  right  hand  a  naked  sword,  balances 
in  his  left,  and  trampling  a  sinner  under  his  feet.  Again 
the  idea  is  prevalent  that  at  a  man's  birth  the  Fates  fix 
the  day  of  his  death  ;  consequently  the  pious  believe  that 
on  November  8,  the  archangel's  day,  he  looks  through  the 
list  and  writes  down  on  a  tablet  the  names  of  those  who 
during  the  ensuing  year  must  fall  victims  to  his  two-edged 
sword. 

From  the  lamentations  {jLoipoKo^iaC)  which  are  sung 
in  Greece  to-day  we  can  learn  much  about  the  popular 
beliefs  concerning  the  condition  of  the  lower  world.  If 
you  read  in  Passow's  collection  the  song  of  the  dying 

*  klepht'  Zedros  your  mind  is  at  once  carried  back  to  the 
sentiments  Sophocles  puts  into  the  mouth  of  the  dying 
Ajax. 

Charon,  or  Charos,  to-day  is  a  synonym  for  death. 

*  Charon  seized  him '  is  a  common  expression,  and  a 
clever  popular  enigma  likens  the  world  to  a  reservoir 
full  of  water  at  which  Charon,  as  a  wild  beast,  drinks  ;  but 
the  beast  is  never  satisfied  and  the  reservoir  never  ex- 
hausted. Imagination  is  the  soul  of  these  modern  Greek 
death  ballads  ;  the  ideas  are  beautifully  poetical  in  many 
cases,  though  the  language  is  crude  and  often  difficult 
to  follow  from  the  complexity  of  patois  expressions. 
They  sing  to  you  of  feasts  and  banquets  in  Hades, 
where  the  dead  are  eaten  for  food  ;  they  tell  you  of  the 
gardens  of  Hades,  where  the  souls  of  the  departed  are 
planted  and  come  up  as  weird  plants. 

King  Charon  is  not  the  Death  of  the  middle  ages, 
the  skeleton  with  a  scythe  in  his  hand ;  he  is  the  Homeric 
ferryman  ;  he  rows  souls  across  to  Hades  in  his  caique, 
and  he  is  a  hero  of  huge  stature  and  flaming  eyes  of 
colour  like  fire  (Cf.  7rop(l>vpso9,^IV  v.  83) ;  he  goes  round 
to  collect  the  dead  on  horseback :  so  in  olden  days  a  horse 


214  77^^   CYC  LADES, 


was  the  symbol  of  death,  as  we  see  on  so  many  tomb- 
stones. Charon,  too,  can  lurk  in  ambush  to  surprise 
his  victims,  and  can  change  himself  into  a  swallow,  like 
Athene,  who  perched  on  Ulysses'  house  on  the  day  of 
the  murder  of  Penelope's  suitors.  Charon's  palace  in 
Hades  is  decorated  with  the  dead,  and  the  bones  of  the 
departed  are  used  for  every  purpose  of  domestic  use. 
The  dead  who  haunt  it  are  for  ever  planning  to  return 
to  the  upper  air,  and  form  schemes  for  so  doing,  which 
Charon  always  discovers  ;  sometimes  they  even  manage 
to  steal  his  keys,  but  in  vain. 

There  are  traces  of  Lethe,  too,  in  the  lamentations  of 
to-day — a  river  of  which  the  dead  drink,  and  forget  their 
homes  and  their  orphan  children.  There  is  found,  too,  a 
parallel  case  in  animal  life  ;  a  shepherd  will  tell  you  that 
there  grows  on  the  mountains  a  herb  called  *  the  grass 
of  denial,'  and  when  the  flocks  have  eaten  thereof  they 
forget  their  young. 

On  the  second  morning  after  our  arrival  at  Mykonos 
we  heard  that  young  Parodos  was  no  more ;  that  he  had 
left  a  wife  and  several  small  children.  A  very  sad  case  it 
was,  carried  ofif,  as  he  had  been,  in  the  prime  of  life  by  a 
consumption,  of  some  years'  standing,  which  had  been 
brought  to  a  climax  by  this  damp  and  windy  winter. 
Mrs.  Monk,  with  feminine  minuteness,  entered  into  details 
of  his  last  hours.  He  had  received  the  prayer  oil  (ei^e- 
\aiov)y  she  said,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  with  the 
customary  attendance  of  seven  priests  to  bless  it.  Very 
early  in  the  morning,  feeling  that  he  was  sinking,  he 
summoned  his  family  around  him  and  sprinkled  them, 
as  is  their  wont  in  Mykonos,  with  water  in  which  salt 
had  been  cast,  saying,  *  As  the  salt  has  melted  so  may 
my  curses  melt' 

*  The  agonies  of  death  were  short ;  he  passed  away  as  a 


THE  DEA  TH-  WAILS   OF  M  YKONOS,  2 1 5 

burnt-out  candle/  said  Mrs.  Monk  with  a  contented  sigh  ; 
*  so  we  have  no  fear  of  his  dying  unpardoned/  *  Why 
so  ? '  I  asked  ;  and  she  spoke  disdainfully  of  a  religion 
which  does  not  teach  that,  if  the  agony  of  death  is  pro- 
longed, all  know  that  the  sufferer  has  been  unpardoned 
for  some  injustice,  in  which  case,  if  possible,  the  injured 
man,  if  alive,  must  be  summoned  to  forgive,  or  if  dead, 
the  man  in  the  death  agony  must  be  fumigated  with  the 
smoke  made  by  burning  a  portion  of  the  other's  shroud. 

The  bells  of  Mykonos  were  tolling  mournfully,  to  tell 
of  the  death  of  the  young  man  ;  and  I  shuddered  in- 
voluntarily now  that  I  knew  that  my  desire  was  to  be 
realised.  I  was  to  be  present  at  a  ntcerologia  over  the 
dead. 

*  The  women  are  preparing  the  corpse  now  ;  by  ten 
o'clock  all  will  be  ready,'  Mrs.  Monk  gaily  suggested 
as  we  were  discussing  some  eggs  and  boiled  milk  for 
breakfast.  *  The  mcerologista  Zachara  is  engaged  to 
sing,  and  no  one  is  better  suited  than  she  for  her  occu- 
pation.' 

We  then  talked  about  these  women :  how  they  practise 
their  dirges  when  working  in  the  fields  ;  how  they  have 
certain  verses  and  certain  stock  ideas  for  nearly  every 
emergency  ;  and  how  by  constant  practice  it  comes  quite 
easily  to  them  to  make  impromptu  verses  about  the 
special  case  in  question.  A  few  years  ago  they  used  to 
send  to  Mykonos  from  all  the  islands  round  when  a  death 
occurred  at  which  a  special  honour  was  desired  to  be 
shown  to  some  deceased  magnate  ;  but  lately  this  custom 
has  been  abandoned.  It  must  have  been  a  weird  sight 
to  see  the  woman  dressed  in  the  peculiar  costume  of 
Mykonos,  the  tall  makramades  head-dress,  on  her  way 
to  a  neighbouring  island  to  sing  her  wail. 

The  makramades  when  black  is  a  peculiarly  hideous 


2i6  THE  CYCLADES, 


and  forbidding  headgear,  being  a  tall  block  of  wood 
or  stiff  canvas,  which  is  placed  on  the  top  of  the  head 
and  bound  round  with  a  towel  ;  round  the  forehead  is 
wound  another  towel  *  or  handkerchief,  which  secures 
the  head-dress  firmly,  and  the  ends  of  which  stick  out 
curiously  on  either  side  of  the  face.  Two  curls  ap- 
pear on  the  cheeks  from  under  this.  Of  course,  as  suited 
to  her  calling,  the  mcerologista  has  to  wear  this  black ; 
other  women  have  coloured  and  embroidered  ones, 
which  are  by  no  means  so  repulsive,  especially  when 
worn  with  the  dress  to  match  it.  They  have  blue  jackets 
edged  with  ermine,  a  red  handkerchief  round  the  neck, 
a  gold  triangular  stomacher,  and  yellow  wristbands,  a 
common  cotton  petticoat  and  velvet  shoes  with  white 
lace  edges.  This  costume  is,  alas !  now  a  rarity  ;  we  saw 
just  a  few  old  women  wearing  it,  but  when  they  are 
dead  there  will  be  no  one  to  take  their  place.  In  a  few 
years  the  makramades  of  Mykonos,  the  tourlos  of 
Amorgos,  the  pina  of  Siphnos — the  last  relics  of  those 
costumes  which  were  different  in  every  island — will  be 
swept  away  and  forgotten. 

'  We  Mykoniotes  are  deeply  attached  to  our  mcerO" 
logicBy  remarked  Mrs.  Monk  with  pride.  *  My  uncle,  who 
was  a  merchant  at  Marseilles,  and  who  died  there,  was 
determined  to  have  one  at  his  death,  and  he  asked  his 
wife  to  sing  one  over  his  corpse.  She,  poor  woman  ! 
pleaded  that  she  had  been  so  many  years  in  a  foreign 
country  that  she  had  quite  forgotten  what  to  say  and 
do.  "  Go  fetch  my  ledger,"  said  the  dying  man  sternly  ; 
**  there  you  will  find  put  down  all  I  have  earned.  Sing 
that ! " ' 

In  answer  to  my  enquiries  Mrs.  Monk  told  me  how 
they  treated  a  corpse  in   Mykonos :  the  funeral  takes 

*  Italian,  macrame. 


THE  DEATH-WAILS  OF  MYKONOS,  217 

place  as  soon  as  possible  after  death — generally  within  a 
few  hours — the  dead  body  is  washed  in  water  and  wine, 
then  the  deceased  is  wrapped  either  in  a  shroud  or 
dressed  in  his  best  clothes  and  placed  on  a  bier  in  the 
middle  of  the  outer  or  reception  room  of  the  house,  his 
face  is  turned  towards  the  east,  his  hands  across  his 
breast,  and  his  feet  are  bound  together  with  black  bands  ; 
and  at  his  head  and  feet  stand  two  lamps  adorned  with 
coloured  ribands.  The  bier  is  covered  with  flowers,  out 
of  which  the  wax-like  face  of  death  peers  in  hideous 
contrast. 

When  everything  was  prepared  the  kinsmen  and 
friends  of  the  deceased  man  were  summoned  to  attend 
the  lamentation  by  the  bellman,  and  amongst  the  others 
I  wended  my  way  to  the  house  of  mourning,  feeling 
heartily  ashamed  of  myself  for  intruding  on  their  grief ; 
but  at  the  same  time  I  was  fortified  by  a  consciousness 
that  the  Mykoniotes  were  flattered  at  the  notice  taken 
of  their  custom. 

The  moerologista  Zachara  came  in  shortly  after  we 
arrived ;  the  kinswomen  were  all  seated  around  the 
corpse  ;  the  afflicted  widow  and  her  children  were  groan- 
ing audibly  on  the  divan,  and  had  their  hair  down  ready 
for  the  customary  tearing  and  shaking.  The  entrance  of 
Zachara  was  the  signal  for  the  commencement  of  that 
demonstrative  grief  in  which  the  Greeks  love  to  indulge : 
they  all  set  to  work  to  sing  in  mournful  cadence  about 
the  merits  of  the  deceased,  keeping  time  with  their  feet 
and  beating  their  knees  with  their  hands ;  then  suddenly, 
with  a  fearful  shriek,  the  widow  went  off*  into  an  ecstasy 
of  grief.  She  tore  her  hair,  she  lacerated  her  cheek,  she 
beat  her  breast,  she  scratched  her  bare  arms,  until  at 
length  two  or  three  women  rushed  forward  to  restrain 
her  in  her  extravagant  grief;  her  poor  little  children  lay 


2i8  THE  CYCLADES, 


crouching  in  a  corner,  terrified  beyond  measure  at  what 
was  going  on  and  screaming  with  all  their  might. 

At  length  Zachara,  who  hitherto  had  taken  no  part 
in  the  proceedings,  but  had  stood  in  a  statuesque  attitude 
with  a  well-feigned  face  of  poignant  grief,  as  if  contem- 
plating the  misery  before  her  to  inspire  her  muse,  now 
rushed  forward,  fell  on  the  corpse,  kissed  it,  and  rose  to 
commence  her  dirge  in  that  harsh  and  grating  voice  which 
the  Greeks  love,  but  which  is  so  distasteful  to  Western 
ears.     Thus  she  began  : — 

I  yearn  to  mourn  for  the  dead  one 

Whose  name  I  dare  not  say, 
For  as  soon  as  I  speak  of  the  lost  one 

My  heart  and  my  voice  give  way. 

As  she  reached  the  end  of  this  stanza  her  voice 
trembled,  she  paused  for  a  moment,  as  if  to  regain  her 
composure,  during  which  time  nothing  was  heard  but 
stifled  sobs. 

Who  hath  seen  the  sun  at  midnight } 

Who  hath  seen  a  midday  star  ? 
Who  hath  seen  a  bride  without  a  crown 

Go  forth  from  her  father's  door  ? 

There  was  a  dead  silence  now,  the  widow's  groans  were 
hushed,  the  beating  of  the  feet  was  stopped,  the  pause 
was  one  of  half-curiosity,  half-suspense,  for  all  knew  that 
the  terrible  climax  was  coming  as  Zachara  lifted  up  her 
voice  again  and  wailed  : — 

Who  hath  seen  the  dead  returning, 

Be  he  king  or  warrior  brave  ? 
They  are  planted  in  Charon's  vineyard, 

There  is  no  return  from  the  grave. 

This  was  Zachara's  prologue,  and  after  it  the  grief 
and  lamentations  were  renewed  with  fresh  vigour.   So  far 


THE  DEATH-WAILS  OF  MYKONOS.  219 

doubtless,  many  of  the  mourners  had  heard  before  on 
similar  occasions,  for  it  was  one  of  her  stock  pieces  ; 
after  this  she  had  to  deal  with  the  special  case  of  the 
deceased.  She  sang  of  the  loneliness  of  the  living,  of  the 
horrors  of  death,  and  in  that  strange  language  of  hyper- 
bole she  wondered  how  the  sun  could  venture  to  shine 
on  so  lamentable  a  scene  as  the  present.  During  all 
this  time  the  widow,  the  kinswomen,  and  the  children 
were  wild  with  grief.  Nature  at  length  asserted  herself 
and  demanded  a  pause,  during  which  the  company 
refreshed  themselves  with  raki,  biscuits,  figs,  and  other 
small  refections  which  had  been  laid  out  on  a  table  in 
the  corner  of  the  room. 

Then  the  tide  of  grief  flowed  on  again ;  in  fact,  a  Greek 
lament  is  one  of  the  most  heart-rending  scenes  that  can 
be  witnessed  if  one  were  not  somewhat  fortified  all  the 
while  by  an  inward  consciousness  that  much  of  it  had 
been  got  up  for  the  occasion,  and  that  mourning  such  as 
this,  which  is  repugnant  to  our  stolid  northern  nations,  is 
usually  as  evanescent  as  it  is  intense. 

Presently  another  well-known  mcerologista  dropped 
in,  who,  we  learnt,  was  a  relative  of  the  deceased  ;  but 
why  she  had  not  joined  the  company  previously  remained 
a  mystery.  She  and  Zachara  then  sang  verses  alternately, 
and  together  they  reminded  one  forcibly  of  the  Carian 
women  of  antiquity  who  were  hired  for  the  same  purpose ; 
and  one's  mind  wandered  back  to  a  Greek  chorus — that 
of  ^schylus  especially — where  the  virgins  at  the  gate  of 
Agamemnon  indulge  in  all  the  most  poignant  manifes- 
tations of  grief,  beating  their  breasts,  lacerating  their 
cheeks,  and  rending  their  garments  ;  and  I  could  not  but 
admire  the  prudence  of  Solon,  who  forbade  the  excessive 
lamentations  of  women  (Plut.  *  Sol'  xii.  and  xxi.) 

This   prolonged   agony  of  mourning  continued  for 


220  THE  CYCLADES. 


two  long  hours  ;  occasionally  to  relieve  the  paid  lament- 
ers,  some  of  the  kinswomen  would  take  up  their  parable 
and  sing  a  verse  or  two,  sending  messages  of  love  and 
remembrances  to  friends  who  had  gone  before  to  the 
shades  of  Hades  ;  and  great  was  my  relief  when  the  priests 
arrived  with  their  acolytes  bearing  the  cross  and  the 
lanterns  to  convey  the  corpse  to  the  grave. 

Before  leaving  the  house  it  is  customary  to  break  a 
jug  of  water  on  the  threshold :  they  spill  water  when  any- 
one goes  for  a  journey  as  an  earnest  of  success  ;  now 
the  traveller  had  gone  on  his  long  journey,  and  the  jug 
was  broken. 

It  was  not  far  to  the  church,  so  that  the  funeral  pro- 
cession did  not  take  long.  The  bier,  with  the  corpse  ex- 
posed, was  carried  by  four  bearers  ;  the  priests  chanted 
the  offices  as  they  went ;  and  occasionally  the  lamenters, 
who  headed  the  procession,  broke  forth  into  their  hideous 
wails.  And  as  it  passed  by  women  came  forth  from 
their  houses  to  groan  in  chorus  with  the  others.  It  was, 
indeed,  a  painful  sight  to  witness. 

On  reaching  the  church  the  corpse  on  the  bier  was 
laid  just  inside  the  porch ;  and  when  the  priests  began 
the  liturgy  the  mourners  ceased  to  wail  for  a  time. 
Then  came  the  impressive  and  very  solemn  stichera  of 
the  last  kiss,  which  was  chanted  by  all  the  priests  toge- 
ther— '  Blessed  is  the  way  thou  shalt  go  to-day,  &c.' — 
whereat  each  mourner  advanced  and  gave  the  last  kiss 
to  the  cold  face  of  the  corpse,  after  which  all  with  one 
accord  burst  forth  again  into  extravagant  demonstra- 
tions of  grief.  Finally,  the  corpse  was  lowered,  with- 
out a  coffin,  into  its  shallow  grave,  and  each  bystander 
cast  a  little  soil  into  the  tomb.  Only  the  rich  have 
coffins  ;  in  fact,  the  poor  have  a  prejudice  against  them, 
for  three  years  after  interment  the  bones  are  dug  up 


THE  DEATH-WAILS  OF  MYKONOS.  221 

again,  washed,  and  cleaned,  and  put  into  the  chamel 
house  ;  and  if  by  any  chance  the  flesh  is  not  decayed  off 
them  the  people  think  it  a  terrible  proof  that  the  owner 
of  the  bones  has  not  been  allowed  to  rest  in  peace — he 
is  still  a  poor  wandering  ghost 

When  a  death  has  occurred  in  a  house  they  thoroughly 
purify  the  place,  and  on  the  return  of  the  mourners  from 
the  funeral  they  wash  their  hands.  Many  superstitions 
concerning  death  still  exist,  but  they  are  becoming  fewer 
year  by  year  ;  for  example,  the  dying  must  not  have  a 
goat's  hair  coverlet  over  the  bed — it  will  impede  his  de- 
parture— and  a  child  should  not  sneeze  whilst  a  lamen- 
tation is  being  sung,  for  it  is  considered  as  a  portent  of 
its  approaching  death  ;  only  by  tearing  off  a  portion 
of  its  dress  can  this  disaster  be  averted. 

In  most  places  it  is  considered  wrong  to  cook  or 
perform  household  offices  in  the  house  of  mourning,  so 
friends  and  relatives  come  laden  with  food  and  lay  the 
*  bitter  table,'  as  they  call  it  (just  like  the  vsKpohsinrva  of 
ancient  days) ;  and  for  three  nights  after  a  death,  on  the 
pillow  which  the  departed  used  they  burn  a  dim  lamp, 
because  it  is  thought  that  for  three  days  after  burial  the 
soul  loves  to  revisit  those  in  his  old  home,  and  busies 
himself  with  his  usual  avocations. 

On  the  day  following  the  burial  they  prepare  the 
KoXKv^a  at  Mykonos  ;  that  is  to  say,  boiled  wheat 
adorned  with  sugar  plums,  honey,  sesame,  basil,  or  what- 
ever other  delicacy  may  suggest  itself  to  the  survivors. 
Sometimes  they  call  these  *  blessed  cakes '  (fiaKapta) — out 
or  euphony,  no  doubt — and  on  the  third  day  the  friends 
and  relatives  reassemble,  again  being  summoned  by  the 
bellman,  fresh  moerologiiB  are  sung,  the  grief  scenes  are 
re-enacted  around  the  delicacies  they  have  prepared, 
and  after  a  sufficiency  of  lamentation  they  repair  to  the 


r  « 


222  THE  CYCLADES. 


tomb,  put  the  KoXKv^a  upon  it,  lament  a  little  more,  and 
finally  distribute  the  eatables  to  the  poor  at  the  church 
door. 

The  same  ceremony  is  gone  through  again  on  the 
ninth  and  fortieth  days  after  death,  and  again  also  on 
the  memorial  festivals  at  the  expiration  of  six  and  twelve 
months,  and  rarely,  too,  on  the  second  anniversary  ;  in 
some  places  I  have  often  seen  tall  pots  like  chimneys 
dotted  about  in  churchyards  where  incense  is  burnt  in 
honour  of  the  departed  on  stated  occasions.  These  and 
other  ceremonies,  recalling  the  ancient  feasts  to  the  dead, 
are  still  extant  in  the  islands.  At  Therm ia,  after  a 
funeral  at  the  tomb,  they  distribute  sweetmeats  and  rakiy 
and  again  they  do  the  same  after  the  distribution  of  the 
KoWv^a  :  this  they  call  avyx(opu)v,  or  *  pardon.'  Some- 
times, also,  on  the  Saturday  after  the  death,  when  the 
bread-baking  takes  place,  warm  bread  with  cheese  or  oil 
is  distributed  to  poor  women  at  the  ovens  in  memory  of 
the  departed,  and  if  the  death  has  occurred  during  Lent 
or  Easter  Day  flesh  of  lambs  and  wine  are  given  in 
charity  by  wealthy  mourners. 

Such  was  the  death  and  burial  that  I  witnessed  at 
Mykonos  ;  a  scene  which,  for  its  intense  painfulness,  will 
never  be  effaced  from  my  memory.  For  days  after .  the 
cries  of  grief  rang  in  my  ears  and  haunted  my  dreams, 
but  Mrs.  Monk,  in  her  matter-of-fact  way,  said,  *  Every- 
one must  die,  and  everyone  at  Mykonos,  when  he  or 
she  dies  in  the  prime  of  life,  must  have  a  moerologia 
sung  over  the  corpse.     It  is  different  when  a  worn-out 

I 

old  man  or  woman  dies ;  nobody  thinks  it  worth  while  to 
mourn  for  them.  You  must  go  to-morrow  and  hear  the 
other  lamentation  over  the  poor  young  fellow  who  died 
at  Athens.' 

I  rather  demurred ;  one  mcerologia  will  last  a  long 


THE  DEATH-WAILS   OF  MYKONOS,  223 


h- ' 


time,  I  thought ;  but  Mrs.  Monk  persuaded  me  by  saying 
that  when  anyone  dies  in  foreign  parts,  unaccompanied 
to  his  tomb  by  his  relatives,  it  is  a  solemn  duty  to  show 
extra  attention  to  his  manes  at  home.  Formerly  a 
lamentation  such  as  this  could  last  forty  days,  but  now 
it  is  limited ;  they  wail  and  cry  for  a  few  days,  and  when 
they  are  exhausted  they  give  it  up  like  sensible  people, 
and  do  not  wear  themselves  to  death  with  grief,  as  once 
they  used  to  do. 

It  was  to  a  little  back  street  of  Mykonos  to  which  I 
was  conducted  next  morning,  and  long  before  reaching 
the  house  we  heard  their  wails  and  lamentations;  and  as>t  \t^  /  c 
I  entered  my  breath  was  almost  taken  away  by  a  young, 
girl,  with  her  black  hair  streaming  over^her  back,  her  face 
distraught  with  grief,  rushing  violently  at  me,  screaming, 
*  Bring  me  back  my  brother !  *  With  difficulty  her  kins- 
folk persuaded  her  to  leave  me  alone  and  to  resume  her 
seat,  and  as  soon  as  I  recovered  composure  after  this 
rather  embarrassing  adventure  I  recognised  that  she  was 
the  chief  mourner,  whose  duty  it  was  to  exhibit  every 
possible  excess  of  woe.  She  screamed  at  the  top  of  her 
voice,  she  gave  violent  tugs  at  her  hair,  she  beat  her 
breast  with  crossed  hands,  she  stamped  her  feet,  she 
scratched  her  arms  until  they  bled ;  and  all  the  while  her 
kinswomen  sat  around  her  singing  dirges  in  a  low,  mono- 
tonous voice,  as  if  they  had  to  squeeze  them  out  by  press- 
ing their  hands  to  their  sides  and  beating  their  knees 
vigorously,  and  then  pausing  every  now  and  again  for  a 
good,  honest  cry.  When  the  poor  sister's  grief  was  too 
violent,  when  she  bade  fair  to  do  herself  some  serious 
bodily  harm,  the  others  rushed  forward  to  soothe  and 
restrain  her ;  and  a  poor  little  girl  of  about  ten,  a  younger 
sister  of  the  deceased,  would  rush  up  from  time  to  time 
and  clutch  at  her  dress  in  a  terrified  manner,  asking  her 


224  THE  CYCLADES, 


if  she  did  not  love  her  just  a  little,  if  all  her  affections 
had  been  centred  on  the  departed. 

Now  and  again  the  grief  would  subside,  and  then  it 
was  the  mcerologistd! s  turn  to  do  her  part  to  rouse  up 
fresh  anguish  in  their  breasts. 

My  eyes  to-day  are  streaming, 

My  grief  is  bitter  and  sore, 
For  he's  gone  his  long,  dark  journey ; 

His  home  shall  know  him  no  more. 

The  one  redeeming  feature  in  this  scene  was  the 
absence  of  the  corpse ;  the  women  were  just  seated  round 
the  room  on  chairs,  with  an  empty  space  in  the  middle 
where  the  bier  would  have  stood.  There  were  no  men 
there,  and  some  few  I  spoke  to  outside  seemed,  I  thought, 
to  sneer  a  little  at  this  lamentation  for  a  dead  man  who 
had  died  away  from  home.  And  I  do  not  think  Demarch 
Monk  was  pleased  with  his  wife  for  inciting  me  to  go. 

Now  for  a  few  words  about  Mykonos.  In  itself 
it  is  one  of  the  least  interesting  islands  of  the  archi- 
pelago. *  Lowly  Mykonos,'  as  Pliny  described  it,  is  a  fair 
description  still.  There  are  next  to  no  remains  of  anti- 
quity upon  it,  and  now  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  make 
out  where  the  two  cities  mentioned  by  Skylax  stood. 
One  must  have  been  where  the  present  town  now  stands, 
judging  from  the  slight  traces  of  walls  and  graves ;  and 
the  other  very  likely  was  near  the  harbour  of  Panormos, 
a  bay  which  runs  right  into  the  centre  of  the  island,  and 
near  which  there  was  a  necropolis.  Beside  these  insig- 
nificant traces,  and  the  remains  of  a  watchtower,  all  the 
glory  of  Mykonos  is  reflected.  Every  possible  piece  of 
antiquity  comes  from  Delos,  even  the  pillars  down  by 
the  harbour  to  which  the  sailors  moor  their  boats  are 
from  a  temple  at  Delos. 

Like  all  other  travellers  who  have  visited  Mykonos, 


THE  DEATH-WAILS  OF  MYKONOS,  22c 

one  of  our  objects  was  Delos.  I  should  think  that  it  has 
hitherto  been  the  traveller's  only  object ;  consequently, 
as  Demarch  Monk  argued,  it  is  only  right  that  antiqui- 
ties dug  up  at  Delos  should  be  kept  for  inspection  at 
Mykonos,  the  nearest  town,  and  the  only  one  in  the 
demarchy  in  which  Delos  is  situated,  and  not  be  removed 
to  Athens,  as  archaeologists  wish.  This  system  of  treat- 
ing antiquities,  now  general  in  Greece,  must  be  looked 
at  from  both  points  of  view :  it  is  charming  to  see  local 
antiquities  in  local  museums,  where  the  associations  are 
so  much  keener,  and  travellers  are  thereby  attracted 
to  a  spot  they  would  otherwise  not  visit,  and*  spend 
money  which  would  otherwise  n9t  find  its  way  there. 
This  system  may  prove  excellent  in  Western  Europe, 
but  in  Greece,  where  accommodation  is  outrageously 
bad  outside  Athens,  the  case  is  different.  How  can 
people  come  to  Mykonos  ?  Unless  you  are  armed  with 
a  letter  of  introduction,  there  is  no  possible  means  of 
obtaining  a  night's  lodging.  The  steamer  comes  only 
once  a  week,  when  the  weather  is  fine,  so  a  traveller  who 
visits  Mykonos,  and  would  not  stay  a  week  on  this  un- 
interesting island,  must  depend  on  the  precarious  passage 
by  caYque. 

Furthermore,  the  pleasure  felt  by  the  people  of  My- 
konos in  possessing  the  valuable  remains  of  Delos  is 
only  that  of  a  satiated  dog  with  a  bone  ;  they  do  not 
want  them  or  understand  them  themselves,  so  they  try 
to  prevent  anyone  else  from  reaping  the  good  that 
would  ensue  from  their  being  properly  looked  after  and 
opportunity  given  for  a  more  thorough  study  of  them. 
I  append  a  note  to  this  chapter  on  the  museum  at 
Mykonos. 

We  only  made  one  expedition  in  Mykonos,  and  that 
was  to  a  convent  in  the  southern  part  of  the  island.     It 

Q 


226  THE  CYC  LADES, 


is  four  miles  distant  from  the  Chora,  and  at  first  the 
ground  traversed  is  excessively  wild,  being  covered  with 
huge  blocks  of  granite,  which  easily  account  for  the 
legends  of  antiquity  which  relate  that  here  Hercules 
and  the  giants  fought,  and  that  here  they  lie  buried.  It 
is  an  exceedingly  wild,  dreary  spot,  capable  of  suggest- 
ing any  horror.  But  the  southern  part  of  the  island,  in 
the  district  called  *  the  upper  part,'  presents  an  unusually 
prosperous  aspect.  It  is  all  studded  with  homesteads 
in  the  midst  of  fertile  fields,  and  there  each  husbandman 
lives  at  the  scene  of  his  work  ;  so  different  to  other 
islands,  where  the  tiller  of  the  soil  lives  in  the  town, 
and  may  have  several  miles  to  traverse  every  morn- 
ing before  reaching  his  daily  labour.  In  the  centre  of 
this  fertile  spot  is  a  prosperous  monastery  called  Tour- 
lianl,  or  *  the  little  towers,'  because  hard  by,  on  a  rocky 
summit,  was  the  mediaeval  fortress  of  Mykonos,  of  which 
now  only  the  outer  walls .  can  be  seen.  It  is  a  rich 
monastery,  but  possesses  nothing  old  or  remarkable  save 
the  miraculous  eikon,  said  to  be  the  work  of  St.  Luke, 
and  to  have  been  found  by  some  divers  at  the  bottom  of 
the  sea.  You  can  see  nothing  of  it  but  a  black  mass, 
and  a  few  years  ago  Archbishop  Lycurgus,  of  Syra, 
wished  to  send  it  to  an  artist,  so  that  it  might  be 
restored,  and  some  expression  given  to  it ;  but  the 
people  would  not  hear  of  it,  and  it  was  left  as  it  is. 
On  the  top  of  a  fine  wooden  throne,  in  Florentine 
carving,  the  man  who  founded  the  monastery  three  hun- 
dred years  ago  had  himself  placed  ;  beyond  this  there 
is  nothing  of  interest. 

Close  to  this  convent  was  a  nunnery,  now  disestab- 
lished. *  In  former  years,'  said  an  irreverent  peasant 
who  showed  us  the  way,  *  the  convent  and  the  nunnery 
were    the    only   houses   existing   in   this    part   of  the 


THE  DEATH-WAILS  OF  MYKONOS.  227 

island  ;  and  a  fine  time  they  had  of  it,  you  may  be 
sure/ 

Our  excellent  quarters  with  Demarch  Monk  and  the 
charming  society  of  his  family  made  our  evenings  at 
Mykonos  pass  very  pleasantly.  Mrs.  Monk  produced 
all  her  treasures  for  our  inspection — glorious  old  Greek 
lace  enough  to  constitute  a  small  fortune  in  England, 
jewellery  of  Venetian  date,  quilts  made  out  of  lovely 
brocades,  and  a  square  embroidered  piece  of  old  chenille, 
which  was  used  as  the  family  pall  to  place  the  coffin  on  ; 
for  the  Monks  are  rich,  and,  when  they  die,  they  go  in 
for  this  luxury.  The  daughters  in  their  room  upstairs 
had  an  enviable  little  museum  of  treasures  from  Delos. 
Altogether  we  had  much  to  see  and  envy,  and  felt 
grateful  to  Mrs.  Monk  when  she  gave  us  the  eikon  of 
St.  Nicholas  inside  a  gilded  crabshell,  adding  gracefully, 
as  she  did  so,  that  she  hoped  it  might  secure  us  a  safe 
voyage  to  our  country. 

The  night  before  we  left,  an  old  woman,  called 
Marousa,  was  summoned  to  the  demarches  house.  She 
was  a  great  hand  at  magic  art,  and  told  us  wonderful 
stories,  with  the  aid  of  a  pack  of  cards,  about  ourselves  ; 
stories  which,  beyond  a  doubt,  she  had  culled  from  the 
gossip,  which  convulsed  Mykonos  just  then,  about  the 
English  who  had  attended  moerologim  and  had  visited 
Tourliani.  *  Marousa  knows  how  to  mix  infallible  love 
potions,'  said  Mrs.  Monk  when  she  had  gone ;  *  but  she 
would  not  tell  you,  however  much  you  asked  her.'  But 
Mrs.  Monk  herself  was  more  kindly  disposed,  and  told 
us  how  a  love-sick  girl  could  win  the  object  of  her  affec- 
tions. *  She  must  get  the  milk  of  forty  mothers  and  of 
forty  of  their  married  daughters  ;  if  she  can  do  this,  and 
if  she  can  succeed  in  getting  her  young  man  to  taste 

just  a  drop  of  this  mixture,  he  is  hers  for  life.* 

0  2 


228  THE  CYC  LADES, 

We  were  on  the  very  best  of  terms  with  Mrs.  Monk, 
and  her  tongue  flowed  freely  about  her  native  isle ;  it 
was  with  grief  that  we  tore  ourselves  away  next  day  on 
our  way  to  Tenos. 

NOTE  I. 
On  the  Museums  of  Mykonos, 

There  are  two  dark  places  in  Mykonos  devoted  to  the  storage 
of  curiosities,  in  one  of  which,  little  better  than  a  cellar,  are 
kept  inscriptions  of  every  sort  \  in  the  other,  which  is  lighted  by 
two  doors  and  two  windows  looking  into  a  gloomy  arcade,  are 
kept  the  statues  and  sculptures.  I  will  just  mention  a  few  of 
the  objects  therein  because  there  is  no  printed  catalogue,  only  an 
imperfect  manuscript  one,  in  modern  Greek,  which  debars  its  use 
to  many.  There  are  numerous  rude  statues  of  Artemis,  one  of 
^  which  M.  HomoUe  dates  at  the  sixth  century  B.C.  It  is~alittle  less 
than  life  size,  with  the  body  enveloped  in  a  long  tunic,  no  sleeves, 
and  fastened  by  a  zone.  She  is  crowned  with  a  diadem,  in  which 
are  nail-holes  pointing  to  some  decorations  having  been  affixed ; 
there  are  wings  on  the  shoulders  and  heels,  long  pendants  from  the 
ears  and  hair  hanging  over  the  shoulders.  There  is  evidently  a 
desire  to  represent  rapid  motion,  for  the  left  knee,  though  to  all 
appearances  on  the  ground,  does  not  touch  it,  and  the  wings  are 
open.  The  face  is  full,  but  the  legs  are  en  profile.  This  valuable 
piece  of  archaic  work  stands  in  a  dark  recess,  whilst  the  pedestal, 
with  an  inscription,  on  which  the  statue  formerly  stood,  is  placed 
at  the  other  end  of  the  room.  Then  there  are  five  beautiful  but 
much  damaged  metopes  representing  Hades  carrying  off  Proser- 
pine,  all  of  the  same  character,  and  found  near  the  same  spot  on 
Delos.  These  are  said  to  be  the  work  of  the  school  of  Praxiteles. 
/  Then  there  are  those  wonderfully  large  inscriptions  from  Delos,  the 
'N  \  largest  known — eighty-eight  inches  long  by  forty-four — and  covered 
with  writing  on  both  sides,  detailing  the  wealth  and  possessions 
and  the  expenses  attending  the  maintenance  of  the  great  temple  of 
Apollo  at  Delos.  Then  we  have  a  curious  syren,  of  ancient  work- 
manship, without  a  head,  but  with  the  long  conventional  curls 
still  adhering  to  the  back  and  chest.  There  is  a  very  curious 
stele  of  Hermes,  the  head  of  which  is  gone,  but  all  the  pedestal 
is    covered    with    every   description   of   rude  drawing,  done  at 


THE  DEATH-WAILS  OF  MYKONOS,  229 


ditferent  periods  ;  there  are  easily  discernible  on  it  dogs,  fish, 
people,  and  a  capitally  executed  goat,  and  a  representation  of  the 
stele  itself^  so  that  we  can  tell  what  the  head  was  like  before  it  was 
broken  off.  Propped  up  against  a  pedestal  in  an  awkward  fashion 
is  the  somewhat  destroyed  figure  of  a  warrior,  the  work  of 
Agasius,  of  Ephesus,  as  we  learn  from  the  base  on  which  it  was 
found,  and  which  is  still  on  Delos  ;  it  was  in  the  agora  down  by 
the  sacred  harbour,  and  is  a  finely  executed  statue  of  a  barbarian, 
not  of  a  Greek,  as  is  easily  seen  from  the  helmet  by  his  side.  There 
is  the  headless  body  of  Apollo,  which  the  inhabitants  of  Tenea 
Orchomeno  presented  to  the  temple  of  Delos ;  there  are  the  lion- 
headed  water-spouts  from  the  great  temple  of  Apollo ;  and  in  a  dark 
inner  room  are  baskets  full  of  lamps,  jar  handles,  and  treasures, 
which  any  other  museum  would  prize,  lying  huddled  together  in 
perilous  confiision.  The  bottom  of  a  plate,  with  the  heads  in  relief  9 
of  two  Moenads  kissing,  is  one  of  the  most  exquisite  examples  * 
of  Greek  pottery  I  have  seen.  Besides  these  things  there  are  lots 
of  smaller  treasures  in  glass  cases,  the  wheels  of  a  toy  chariot,  a 
toy  helmet — doubtless  for  votive  offerings  to  the  god — locks, 
utensils  for  domestic  and  temple  use,  all  of  which  require  far  more 
attentive  study  than  they  are  ever  likely  to  get  at  Mykonos. 
When  you  visit  Delos  and  see  the  vast  acres  of  unexcavated  ground, 
and  know  that  the  results  of  any  enterprise  must  be  deposited 
here,  it  is  not  encouraging. 


NOTE   II. 
The  Excavations  at  Delos. 

It  is  a  curious  irony  of  fate  that  in  a  work  on  the  Cyclades  one 
is  almost  tempted  to  leave  Delos  out  altogether.  This  islet,  the 
centre,  not  only  of  the  encircling  Cyclades,  but  of  the  ancient 
religious  world,  has  nothing  whatsoever  to  do  with  the  life  of  to- 
day, except  that  the  harbour  between  it  and  Rhenaea  has  been 
constituted  a  quarantine  station.  Delos  and  Rhensea,  now  called 
*  the  Deloi,'  exist  only  as  fossils,  and  any  knowledge  concerning 
them  belongs  almost  exclusively  to  the  French,  whose  active 
excavations,  and  the  results  thereof,  have  been  so  exhaustively 
treated  by  M.  Leb^gue,  in  his  work,  and  by  M.  HomoUe,  in  his 
articles  in  the  *  Bulletin  de  Correspon dance  Hell^nique,'  that  no 
comment  is  necessary. 


230  THE  CYC  LADES. 


A  visit  to  the  excavated  ruins  with  these  works  in  one's  hand  is 
truly  delightful ;  with  their  aid  we  were  able  to  place  all  the 
buildings  which  have  been  alluded  to  by  ancient  writers,  and  we 
were  furthermore  able  to  picture  to  ourselves  the  scenes  of  bygone 
ages :  the  procession  of  white-clad  maidens,  which  wound  up 
Mount  Cynthos  to  the  temple  of  Jupiter  and  Minerva ;  the  magnifi- 
cent approach  of  the  *  theories '  from  Athens  to  worship  at  Apollo's 
shrine  :  and  as  we  sat  amongst  the  ruins  excavated  by  the 
French  we  thought  much  of  these  things,  for  around  us  reigned  a 
desolation  and  destruction  perhaps  mare  complete  than  that  of 
Nineveh. 

Mount  Cynthos  is  an  ugly,  bare,  sugar-loaf  mound,  rising  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  sea-level  in  the  centre  of 
the  island,  affording  a  scanty  pasturage  for  goats  ;  the  rest  of  the 
island  is  tolerably  fertile,  and  is  let  to  a  few  shepherds  for — what 
seemed  to  us  a  large  sum  in  these  parts — two  hundred  and  forty 
pounds  per  annum.  There  are  a  few  huts  scattered  about  and  a 
wooden  shanty,  where  two  old  men  live  to  guard  the  ruins  from  the 
descent  of  European  pirates,  who  will  go  there  in  yachts  and  steal 
what  they  can  find.  All  around  stretches  a  vast  sea  of  ruins, 
recalling  Pompeii  in  extent  and  complete  annihilation ;  you  wander 
through  houses  with  mosaic  pavements,  pillared  halls  with  cisterns 
below,  and  the  richness  of  marble  wherever  you  turn  is  most 
striking,  and  in  the  brilliant  sunlight  almost  dazzling.  Much  of  the 
lychnites  vein  from  Mount  Marpessa  of  Paros  has  found  its  way  here. 

There  is  still  a  vast  amount  of  work  to  be  done  on  Delos  if  the 
Greek  Government  would  only  encourage  enterprise  in  excavation. 


231 


CHAPTER  XI. 

TENDS. 

I.   The  Panhellenic  Festival. 

Inasmuch  as  the  festival  of  Tenos  is  one  of  the 
greatest  events  occurring  in  modern  Greek  life,  and  since 
we  visited  the  island  expressly  to  see  the  festival,  and  not 
the  island,  on  the  first  of  our  journeys  there,  I  will  here 
devote  a  separate  chapter  to  the  festival,  and  reserve 
another  for  the  island. 

Of  the  many  existing  points  of  connection  between 
old  and  new  Greece  one  of  the  greatest  is  the  love  of  the 
ganegyris^:  these  religious  festivals  are  still  numerous  in 
Asia  Minor  and  in  the  islands  as  of  old,  and  are  charac- 
terised now  as  then  by  a  mixture  of  devout  earnestness 
and  general  sociability. 

In  every  branch  of  life  the  religious  susceptibility  of 
the  Greek  of  to-day  is  as  it  was  when  St.  Paul  wrote 
of  them  as  being  too  superstitious,  too  devoted  to  the 
countless  gods  of  their  country.  In  short,  this  country, 
the  former  hotbed  of  polytheism,  has  in  no  way  changed 
its  character  yet.  They  are  as  superstitious  about  the 
spirits  that  haunt  caverns,  forests,  fountains,  and  cliffs  as 
ever  their  ancestors  were. 

The  Madonna  of  Tenos  is,  however,  the  Queen  of 
queens,  and  numerous  as  are  the  pilgrim  spots  in  Greece 


232  THE  CYCLADES, 


none  can  rival  Tenos.     The  whole  of  the  recogniaed 

Greek  world  is  here  annually  represented,  from  the  Crimea 

to  Crete,  from  Corfu  to  the  highlands  of  Asia  Minor, 

where  some  of  the  purest  Ionian  blood  still  flows  ;  and 

those  who  contend  for  the  Slavonic  origin  of  the  modern 

Hellenes  would  do  well  to  spend  the  feast  week  at  Tenos, 

where  they  would  satisfy  themselves,  beyond  a  doubt, 

1  that  the  Greek  who  goes   to   the   island   of  Tenos  to 

I  worship  to-day  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  Greek  who 

\    1  went  to  the  neighbouring  island  of  Delos  to  worship  two 

thousand  years  ago. 

Whoever  is  distorted,  withered,  blind,  or  halt — whom- 
soever human  art  has  failed  to  heal — all  these  can  go  to 
Tenos  ;  and  if  the  list  of  miracles  every  year  is  scoffed 
at  by  the  sceptical,  and  said  to  be  printed  beforehand  by 
the  priests,  yet  the  poor  Greeks  from  the  islands  or  moun- 
tains do  not  know  this,  and  set  off,  with  their  hearts  full 
of  hope,  their  mattresses  wrapped  up  in  their  carpets  on 
their  backs,  and  their  families  by  their  side,  for  a  trip  to 
Tenos. 

This  is  only  the  general  aspect  of  the  pilgrimage ; 
politically  and  socially  the  effect  is  wider.  The  birth  of 
the  panegyris  at  Tenos  was  coincident  with  the  regene- 
ration of  Greece,  and  in  the  working  of  Greek  politics  for 
the  last  sixty  years  the  annual  excursion  to  Tenos  has 
formed  an  important  factor.  Dissatisfied  Cretans,  op- 
pressed Greeks  from  Asia  Minor  here  meet  the  free  sons 
of  new  Hellas  on  free  Hellenic  soil,  and  in  this  island 
yearly  are  sown  seeds  of  revolt  against  Turkish  rule, 
which  the  pilgrims  take  home  and  spread  broadcast  on 
fertile  ground. 

In  the  small  town  of  St.  Nicholas,  at  Tenos,  the 
numerous  caf6s  intended  for  the  entertainment  of  these 
guests   are   adorned   with    wall    paintings    illustrating 


TENOS,  233 


struggles  in  the  war  of  independence,  the  seizing  of 
Drakos,  or  the  death  of  Markos  Botzares.  Then  the 
musicians,  with  suitable  national  rhapsodies,  such  as  *  O 
my  beloved  sharp  sword,'  &c.,  work  upon  the  Greeks 
from  the  Turkish  dominions  in  a  wonderful  manner. 

We  cannot  too  much  admire  the  forethought  of  those 
who  first  organised  this  gathering  of  Greeks  to  an  island 
in  the  centre  of  the  ^Egean  Sea ;  they  wisely  did  not 
choose  Delos,  the  centre  of  the  encircling  Cyclades — it 
would  have  been  too  apparent  an  adaptation  of  the 
pagan  scheme — but  Tenos  is  only  a  few  miles  distant ; 
hence  the  geographical  value  of  the  position  is  but 
slightly  altered,  and  the  idea  of  a  religious  centre  in  the 
Cyclades  is  still  carried  on. 

In  1822,  the  first  year  of  the  Greek  revolution,  a  nun 
of  Tenos  dreamed  a  dream — the  story  of  this  dream  is 
simple  and  oft  told — and  it  resulted  in  the  production  of 
a  picture  of  the  Madonna,  an  £iicii)v  of  miraculous  powers, 
dug  up  at  the  spot  indicated  by  the  dream.  In  olden 
days  it  would  have  been  the  discovery  of  sacred  books 
dexterously  buried  by  the  priests ;  in  Western  Europe 
it  would  have  been  some  rumoured  appearance  of  the 
Virgin  to  an  ignorant  peasant ;  in  each  case  the  result 
is  the  same.  A  report  of  miracles  wrought  brings 
countless  pilgrims  and  money  without  end,  a  temple  is 
erected,  and  at  the  yearly  pilgrimage  strange  faces  and 
strange  costumes  meet  for  once  under  the  common  name 
of  Hellenes. 

It  was  a  cleverly  conceived  plan,  the  establishment 
of  a  miracle-working  Madonna  in  the  centre  of  Hellas  ; 
and  insinuating  rumours  were  spread  at  the  same  time, 
stating  that  the  picture  was  found  on  the  same  day  that 
the  banner  of  the  cross  was  unfurled  for  Greek  inde- 
pendence, and  at  the  time  the  -war  was  raging  the  newly 


234  THE  CYCLADES, 


found  slxcbv  was  placed  in  a  golden  frame,  a  thank-offering 
for  miracles  worked. 

The  Greek  nation  of  to-day  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude 
to  religion  which  will  probably  never  be  repaid,  judging 
from  the  state  of  religious  feeling  existing  now  in 
modem  Athens  ;  yet  throughout  the  dark  ages  of  slavery 
the  priests  alone  by  their  exertions  kept  the  language, 
creed,  and  distinct  nationality  from  becoming  absorbed 
in  the  general  break-up  of  the  Greek  nation.  At  the 
first  echo  of  revolt  the  priests  were  the  first  to  unsheathe 
the  sword  and  head  the  rebellion.  This  fact  the  Turks 
recognised  when  they  hanged  the  patriach  of  Constan- 
tinople at  the  outbreak  of  the  revolution.  The  priests 
worked  hard  for  the  notion  of  Panhellenism,  and  with 
this  view  they  chose  Tenos  as  the  centre  of  their  work. 
Every  priest  throughout  the  Greek-speaking  world  tells 
his  flock  of  the  virtues  of  the  shrine  of  Tenos,  and  those 
that  go  bring  back  to  their  remote  villages  tales  of  life 
and  freedom. 

The  policy  of  the  Greek  Church  has  been  to  work,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  new  theories  on  the  old  basis  ;  this 
they  did  when  Christianity  was  supplanting  paganism. 
The  Virgin  took  the  attributes  of  most  of  the  deities. 
She  was  ably  assisted  by  her  army  of  saints ;  the 
prophet  Elias  was  no  other  than  Phoebus  Apollo  (Helios) ; 
the  archangels  could  hardly  be  distinguished  from  the 
Dioscouri,  Hercules,  &c.  ;  whilst  St.  Nicholas  was  the 
sailors'  god,  the  modern  Poseidon. 

Here  at  Tenos,  Poseidon  was  worshipped  in  olden 
times  as  a  physician.  Silesias  the  Athenian  set  up  a  statue 
to  him,  and  another  to  Amphitrite,  each  nine  piques  * 
high  ;  and  on  the  ruins  of  the  old  town  of  Tenos,  sacred  to 
Poseidon,  the  modern  town  of  St.  Nicholas  is  built ;  and 

Peche  « two  feet. 


y'  O  -, 


TENOS.  235 


now  instead  of  the  temple  to  Poseidon  stands  the  great 
white  temple  dedicated  to  the  healing  Madonna,  to  whose 
shrine  our  pilgrimage  takes  place. 

Perhaps  the  scene  on  board  the  old  ship  *  Theoria/ 
which  annually  went  to  Delos  full  of  pilgrims  from 
Athens,  the  ship  which  tradition  said  had  brought 
Theseus  from  Crete,  was  not  so  very  unlike  the  scene 
on  board  the  steamer  *  Peneios,*  which  took  me  from  the 
Piraeus  to  Tenos.  There  were  1,200  pilgrims  on  board, 
all  in  their  holiday  attire — women  with  their  sack-like 
coats,  gaudy  petticoats,  and  coloured  frontlets,  that  is  to 
say,  with  the  Athenian  plait  and  the  knotted  ragged  ker- 
chief on  their  heads  ;  men  with  their  fustanella  of  snowy 
white ;  each  and  all  with  their  beds  and  their  carpets, 
which  they  spread  for  their  families  on  deck,  and  prepared 
for  an  alfresco  night  on  board.  Sardines  in  a  box  are 
not  more  tightly  compressed  than  was  the  cargo  of  human 
flesh  on  board  the  *  Peneios.'  *  ^avariKos  \aos,^  sneered 
the  captain  as  we  looked  down  upon  them  from  the 
bridge. 

Music  was  played  by  performers  on  every  species 
of  rude  instrument,  from  a  aypavXioVy  the  primaeval  1 
panpipe,  to  a  barrel  organ  with  its  dancing  marionettes. 
The  raki  drinkers  were  noisy  now,  laughing,  shouting, 
blaspheming  ;  women  were  chatting,  children  playing  ; 
but  before  long  we  rounded  Cape  Sunium,  and  no  more 
merry-making  was  heard  ;  a  death-like  silence  for  a  while 
pervaded  the  ship,  and  then  groan  succeeded  groan  in 
quick  succession.  Poseidon,  the  physician,  was  intent  on 
a  desperate  cure ! 

*  Zft)?;  fiov  !  *  groaned  a  woman  close  to  me  after  each 
paroxysm  had  past.  If  I  felt  inclined  to  retort  ad^ 
dyaircd,  circumstances  forbade. 

^  Honey  and  milk  I '  groaned  another  pilgrimess.     She 


236  THE  CYC  LADES. 


had  evidently  come  from  the  mountains,  where  they 
still  mutter  these  words,  to  exorcise  the  demons  of  the 
air — a  remnant,  doubtless,  of  ancient  times,  when  they 
used  to  offer  honey  and  milk  to  appease  the  nymphs 
who  raised  the  storm. 

Daylight  on  our  arrival  at  Tenos  attested  to  the 
fearful  ravages  of  the  night  Our  steamer  was  by  no 
means  the  first  to  arrive,  though  the  great  day  of  the 
feast  was  yet  two  days  off;  and  the  horizon  was  dotted 
all  over  with  steamers,  calfques,  and  craft  of  various  kinds, 
all  bound  for  Tenos  and  the  little  town  of  St  Nicholas. 
I  luckily  had  a  letter  for  Kvpto^  KapydBrfs^  one  of  the 
commissaries  of  the  feast ;  a  very  necessary  precaution, 
judging  from  the  crowds  which  were  turned  away 
from  every  door.  *  What  are  we  to  do  ? '  asked  eager 
mothers  with  sickly  infants  in  their  arms.  *  May  the 
God  of  the  ravens  help  you  ! '  was  the  encouraging  reply. 
Seventeen  slept  on  the  floor  of  a  small  anteroom  in 
the  house  in  which  we  lodged,  and  thought  themselves 
lucky. 

According  to  our  friend  the  commissary's  computa- 
tion, no  less  than  45,000  strangers  visited  the  island  from 
all  parts  of  Hellas — Egyptian,  Cypriote,  Cretan  Greeks^ 
Greeks  who  had  travelled  for  days  and  weeks  from  the 
inmost  recesses  of  Asia  Minor,  all  were  assembled  here 
to  worship—  and  they  have  not  only  come  to  pray  for 
their  sick  relatives  and  themselves,  they  have  come  to 
pray  for  the  regeneration  of  their  sick  country  and 
that  their  lot  may  be  as  the  Cypriote's. 

A  Lesbiote  argued  with  me  one  day,  saying  how 
much  better  it  would  have  been  for  England  to  take 
Lesbos,  commanding,  as  it  does,  the  entrance  to  the  Gulf 
of  Smyrna  and  the  approach  to  the  Dardanelles  ;  but 
unfortunately  his  arguments  were  wasted  ;  Cyprus  had 


TENOS,  237 


been   chosen.     The  question  now  was   about  Egypt 

Lesbos  must  wait. 

Every  pilgrim  brought  his  present  along  with  him  in 
money  or  in  kind,  just  as  in  former  ages  offerings  and 
sacrifices  were  brought  to  the  shrine  of  Delos.  Thucy- 
dides,  when  he  wrote  of  the  crowds  of  women  and 
children  at  Delos,  of  the  musical  and  gymnastic  contests 
described  the  scene  I  saw.  Mithridates,  when  he  made 
ArjXos^  a8^\ogJLittle  thought  that  the  Greek  nationality 
which  he  then  sought  to  crush  would  burst  forth  again 
in  all  its  vigour  so  close  to  the  sacred  birthplace  of 
Apollo. 

The  narrow  pier,  the  harbour,  the  windows,  the 
balconies,  the  roofs  of  the  houses  encircling  the  harbour 
were  darkened  by  an  endless  crowd.  We  could  not  turn 
when  once  drawn  into  the  crush  ;  scarcely  could  I  move 
my  hand  as  we  were  borne  involuntarily  through  the  little 
agora  towards  the  broad  street  which  led  directly  to  the 
temple.  The  whole  scene  before  us  was  like  a  dazzling 
dream — costumes,  nationalities  without  end.  The  men 
for  the  most  part  wore  baggy,  loose  trousers  of  blue 
glazed  calico — ^paKta,  as  they  call  them — all  full  of 
luggage  dangling  between  their  legs ;  a  red  sash  kept  these 
up  ;  a  loose  embroidered  waistcoat  covered  their  shirt 
and  a  fez,  placed  sidewise,  was  on  their  heads.  Greeks 
always  adopt  the  costume  of  the  country  wherever  they 
go.  There  is  hardly  any  trace  of  ancient  dress ;  Turkish, 
Albanian,  Russian  costumes  meet  at  Tenos  every  year 
with  Greeks  inside.  Occasionally  in  the  islands  you 
meet  with  the  KovXovpi,  or  twisted  turban,  also  the 
rpovXoSy  a  sort  of  headgear  like  a  Macedonian  helmet, 
such  as  those  we  see  on  ancient  vases  ;  but  every  year 
these  are  getting  rarer  :  the  old  women  who  wear  them 
get  laughed  at  by  their  grandchildren,  who  affect  flowers 


238  THE  CYCLADES, 


and  feathers,  and  European  trash.  The  KovXovpi,  indeed, 
is  excessively  pretty,  being  twisted  coils  of  white  around 
the  head  and  a  long  streamer  behind ;  it  is  supposed 
to  represent  a  serpent,  and  as  such  is  emblematic  of 
eternity. 

This  year  the  festival  at  Tenos  fell  in  the  Greek 
Lent.  And  the  Lenten  luxury  of  a  pilgrim  is  also 
called  a  KovXovpty  being  a  cake  made  like  rings  and 
covered  with  sesame  seeds.*  Eternity  is  likewise  sym- 
bolised by  these.  The  other  Lenten  luxuries  of  a  devout 
Greek  pilgrim  are  few.  No  meat,  no  eggs,  on  certain 
days  no  fish,  and  then  the  orthodox  Church  admits  of 
no  compromise,  no  purchase  by  money  of  absolution  for 
indulgence.  Herbs  are  the  common  food,  and  sweets 
innumerable,  also  cakes,  called  lachanopetta^  composed 
of  spinach  mixed  with  onions  and  oil,  fried,  and  then 
put  in  pastry.  When  Lent  is  over  butter  takes  the  place 
of  oil. 

Our  ears  were  assailed  by  a  perpetual  din  ;  not  only 
the  shops,  but  even  many  of  the  private  houses  had 
been  turned  into  wine  shops,  and  had  vegetable  stalls 
in  front  of  them,  the  owners  having  retired  into  a  back 
room  and  given  up  their  best  apartments  to  the  strangers. 
Down  by  the  quay  most  of  the  commodities  for  sale 
were  eatables,  baskets  of  fish,  bread,  olives,  caviare.  Then 
there  were  cookshops  redolent  of  savoury  dishes,  which 
were  being  fried  on  charcoal  fires;  barbers'  shops,  the 
haunts  of  perpetual  gossip ;  and  all  the  way  up  to  the 
temple  were  small  open  air  stalls,  from  behind  which 
the  cries  were  almost  deafening,  and  containing  pyramids 
of  KovkovpLy  almonds,  and  cans  of  Kalvas.  Next  came 
articles  of  apparel,  men's  hats,  secondhand  clothes, 
curious  illustrations  of  the  Russo-Turkish  War,  in  which 


Vide  Naxos,  p.  342.      H^xS\  Cj  ^  - 


/V 


TENOS,  239 


the  Turks  were  invariably  being  severely  punished,  black 
and  chestnut-coloured  beads  (KOfifioXoyia),  metal  phy- 
lacteries, bone  crosses,  small  tin  phials  for  the  holy  oil, 
and  bigger  ones  for  the  holy  water.  All  was  one  pro- 
longed din  as  we  ascended  the  hill. 

Then  there  were  funny  peep-shows ;  a  mechanical  hare 
dressed  like  a  coachman,  and  moving  his  ears  and  head ; 
and  many  pilgrims  invested  their  ten  lepta  (one  penny)  to 
have  their  fortunes  told  by  doves,  which  have  been  trained 
to  put  their  beaks  into  a  wooden  box  and  to  draw  out 
coloured  papers  on  which  fortunes  were  printed,  after  the 
fashion  of  our  crackers.  I  tarried  some  time  near  these 
winged  Pythians,  and  one  event  amused  me  much :  a 
middle-aged  man  and  his  wife  consulted  the  oracle ;  they 
got  a  paper,  but  could  not  read  it,  so  the  proprieter  of 
the  doves  volunteered  to  do.  so,  and  read  as  follows : 
*  Your  only  fault  is  that  you  are  slightly  addicted  to 
drink,  and  when  drunk  you  tyrannise  over  your  wife, 
who  is  better  than  you.  To  be  happy  you  must  abandon 
this  vice.'  The  bystanders  laughed  and  the  old  man 
blushed  and  led  his  wife  on.  Perhaps  the  Pythian  oracle 
had  spoken  true. 

Further  on  a  blind  beggar  was  sitting  and  singing  in 
a  dull,  melancholy  dirge,  and  shaking  his  box  for  alms, 
/  like  Homer  did,  I  dare  say.  This  long  street  is  a  perfect 
medley  of  chaplets,  knives,  games,  crosses,  sweets,  fresh 
fruits,  linen,  holy  pictures,  ornaments,  cooking  utensils — 
everything,  in  fact,  to  supply  the  appetite,  religious 
and  carnal,  of  the  pilgrims,  many  of  whom  bivouac  on 
the  hillside  to  avoid  the  extortion  of  the  town.  Tenos 
is  celebrated  for  its  rogues  on  these  occasions ;  fifty 
of  them  I  saw  shipped  off  at  once  to  Syra  jail,  and 
amongst  the  modern  Greek  islanders  *  a  Teniote ' 
is  a  by-word  for   laziness.     In  this  feast  week  money 


240  THE  CYCLADES. 


for  the  rest  of  the  year  must  be  made :  they  cook  for 
their  guests,  they  lay  open  their  houses  to  them,  and 
they  extort  money,  just  as  the  inhabitants  of  ancient 
Delos  used  to  do  hundreds  of  years  ago.  A  proverb  is 
well  known  amongst  the  pilgrim-goers,  which  runs  as 
follows  : — 

Who  goes  to  the  feast  his  purse  must  take, 
His  money  must  spend,  and  not  calculate. 

The  church  on  the  hillside  looked  beautifully  clean 
and  fresh,  being  built  of  white  marble  from  the  quarries 
at  the  north  of  the  island.  A  handsome  marble  stair- 
case led  up  to  the  entrance,  into  which  several  old 
columns  are  introduced,  which  were  brought  from  one  of 
the  temples  on  Delos  again  to  serve  for  a  similar  pur- 
pose. Beneath  the  church  the  vaults  were  teaming  with 
pilgrims,  for  here  is  the  zvpzciSy  the  holy  of  holies,  where 
the  miracle-working  picture  was  found.  Around  the 
courtyard,  which  covers  above  an  acre,  were  receptacles 
for  the  human  beings  here  assembled.  Under  the  dome 
of  the  entrance,  and  about  the  courtyard,  the  goods  sold 
were  all  religious,  and  the  stalls  of  the  gZ^ceoiz-sellers  were 
a  perfect  gallery  of  quaint  pictures.  The  silversmiths  here 
were  driving  a  rattling  trade,  selling  silver  legs,  arms, 
eyes,  houses,  hearts,  steamers,  cows,  as  tributes  of  thank- 
fulness to  be  hung  in  the  church  by  some  pilgrim  whose 
safety  from  disaster  came  under  any  of  these  heads. 
They  sold  their  wares  just  like  Demetrius  the  silversmith 
^Id  his  to  the  worshippers  at  the  temple  of  Diana  at 
Ephesus.  Through  all  this  crowd  the  supplicants  press 
with  candles  and  offerings ;  some  carry  young  babies, 
still  unbaptized,  that  they  may  be  expressly  consecrated 
to  the  Madonna  ;  and  at  the  baptismal  ceremony  here 
whosoever  first  succeeds  in  snatching  the  baby  from  the 


TENOS.  241 


priest  after  its  immersion  becomes  its  godfather,  and  it  is 
curious  to  see  the  struggle  between  two  or  three  for  this 
honour.  Not  unfrequently  you  see  a  mother  weigh  her 
baby  in  scales,  putting  enough  candles  into  the  other 
balance  to  outweigh  the  baby,  which  candles  are  given 
to  the  Madonna  during  the  festival. 

Close  to  the  entrance  is  a  small  well  which  was  pre- 
sented by  an  Ottoman  Turk  to  the  Madonna,  and  on 
my  expressing  surprise  at  seeing  this  I  was  told  that 
many  Turks  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  her  miracles,  and 
come  to  be  healed. 

Friday  was  the  great  day  of  the  feast,  and  on  the 
eve  of  the  event  the  45,000  pilgrims  were  wrought  up  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  excitement ;  crowds  flocked  to  the 
church,  which  it  was  scarcely  possible  to  enter.  Three 
commissaries  sat  at  desks  close  to  the  door  collecting 
the  offerings  of  the  faithful ;  my  friend  asked  us  to  sit 
by  his  side  for  a  time  and  watch  the  haul — ^jewellery, 
embroidery,  silver  ornaments,  bread,  cakes  of  beeswax, 
money  of  all  nations — nothing  seemed  to  come  amiss. 
The  money  was  consigned  to  coffers  beneath  the  desks, 
and  men  were  in  attendance  with  baskets  to  carry  off 
the  bulkier  articles  ;  in  return  for  their  offerings  each 
person  received  a  candle,  which  he  lighted,  and  during 
the  burning  of  this  he  supposed  himself  more  subject 
to  receive  benefit  from  the  healing  exhalations  which 
they  say  rise  from  the  vaults  below  by  means  of  marble 
gratings. 

Twenty  thousand  pounds,  my  friend  told  me,  was 
considered  below  the  average  sum  realised  at  one  of 
these  feasts,  when  all  the  cheating  was  done,  for  of  course 
there  is  much  of  this,  and  the  post  of  commissary  is  one 
keenly  contested  for.  The  priests  grow  rich,  and  so  do 
the  inhabitants  of  Tenos ;  yet  after  all  they  do  a  great 

R 


2^2  THE  CYCLADES, 


deal  of  good  with  their  20,000/. ;  orphanages  and  charities 
of  various  sorts  are  maintained  out  of  the  proceeds  of 
the  panegyris  at  Tenos. 

The  shrine  of  Tenos  is  reckoned  especially  beneficial 
to  the  eyes.  Blind  men,  women,  and  children  lie  for 
hours  with  their  eyes  fixed  on  the  gratings  through  which 
the  healing  vapour  is  supposed  to  ascend.  Perhaps 
the  priests,  when  they  concocted  this  programme 
for  the  sufferers,  had  been ,  reading  that  passage  in 
Aristophanes  which  recommends  a  plaster  of  Tenos 
garlic  for  diseases  of  the  eye ;  for  Tenos  is  celebrated 
for  the  fineness  of  its  garlic  ;  and  the  exhalations  from 
the  crowded  vaults  were  redolent  with  the  odour  of  this 
herb. 

It  was  a  fine  starry  night,  and  the  thousands  of  little 
oil  lamps  which  decorated  the  church  and  its  steeple 
rivalled  the  lights  of  the  celestial  hemisphere  in  their 
twinklings.  Patience,  assisted  now  and  again  by  an 
ingenious  push,  enabled  us  to  get  inside  and  witness 
the  weird  sights  in  the  church — men  and  women  were 
there  grovelling  on  their  knees  ;  cripples,  blind  and  halt, 
were  imploring  the  favour  of  the  Madonna  ;  further  on,  a 
woman,  after  standing  ominously  still  for  a  while,  as  if  con- 
templating the  scene,  was  suddenly  seized  with  religious 
frenzy.  She  shrieked,  she  threw  her  arms  about,  and  was 
carried  out  in  wild  hysteria.  This  frenzy  was  most  infec- 
tious, and  presently  the  whole  church  was  full  of  hideous 
yells  and  maddened  suppliants  who  are  supposed  when  in 
this  state  to  be  under  the  special  influence  of  the  Deity. 
There  is  something  that  carries  one's  mind  back  to 
antiquity  in  the  way  these  crowds  are  lodged.  In  olden 
days  no  inns  existed  on  Delos,  and  at  the  festivals  places 
\  of  shelter  were  found  near  and  in  the  temple.  Now  in 
\^  I    Tenos  the  old  custom  of  incubatio  {s^Koifiriais)  is  con- 


TENDS.  243 


tinued,  for  when  invalids  aspire  to  a  perfect  cure  they 
must  sleep  in  the  church  for  a  night  at  least.  In  many 
of  the  temples  of  iEsculapius  rooms  were  provided  for 
the  reception  of  invalids  who  wished  to  try  this  cure 
(Paus.  ii.  27) ;  it  is  the  same  to-day  in  Tenos. 

Up  in  the  gallery  of  the  church  crowds  were  col- 
lected, with  their  beds,  their  carpets,  and  their  cooking 
utensils  ;  for  this  portion  of  the  church  had  been  given  up 
as  a-lodging  house  "to  those  who  were  lucky  enough  to 
find  room.  Luckier  still  were  those  who  could  find  a  few 
inches  of  ground  on  which  to  lay  their  bed,  down  in  the 
vault  beneath,  for  in  the  svpeats  they  think  they  breathe 
sacred  air.  This  vault  or  crypt  is  low,  but  little  higher 
than  a  tall  man's  stature,  and  the  denseness  of  the 
atmosphere  was  intensely  stifling.  Close  to  us  as  we 
entered  were  three  blind  men,  holding  on  to  one  another, 
groaning  and  striking  their  breasts ;  behind  them  was  a 
sinister  form,  which  barked,  as  it  were,  not  able  to  speak, 
and  wriggled  at  my  feet  like  a  fish.  Further  on  was  a 
poor  girl,  in  the  last  stage  of  consumption,  leaning  for 
support  on  her  sister.  A  Greek  islander  has  a  horror 
of  this  disease  ;  he  believes  that  four  Erinyes  stand  at 
each  corner  of  the  room  in  which  the  sufferer  dies  ready 
to  pounce  upon  a  survivor.  An  old  man  on  all  fours 
hindered  our  progress  ;  and  close  to  him  a  madman 
stood,  still  for  the  time  being,  but  ominously  so.  A 
damsel  stretched  on  the  knee  of  her  mother  was  relating, 
like  Ophelia,  in  subdued  and  mysterious  voice,  some 
secret  of  her  distraught  brain,  whilst  her  mother  offered 
up  a  never-ceasing  prayer  to  the  all-healing  Madonna 
for  the  recovery  of  her  child's  intellect. 

It  was  piteous  to  look  at  a  noble  form  leaning  against 
the  wall :  she  had  a  Greek  type  of  countenance  ;  her 
hair  was  black,  and  hung  in  rich  tresses  down  her  back  ; 

R  2 


244  THE  CYCLADES. 


her  eyes  were  almond-shaped,  her  nose  straight ;  she 
seemed  like  a  sister  of  the  Caryatides,  but,  alas !  like 
them,  she  was  deaf.  I  advanced  and  found  myself  be- 
fore a  hole  which  led  into  an  inner  vault,  and  thence 
another  opened  out,  but  I  could  stand  no  more.  Sick 
and  faint,  I  reached  the  open  air  after  a  struggle  with 
the  pilgrims,  who  were  eagerly  pushing  in  with  their 
little  tin  phials  they  had  bought  outside  to  fill  with 
water  from  the  sacred  stream.  Others,  too,  were  buying 
consecrated  oil  from  the  priests,  which  they  poured  into 
the  eyes  of  their  children,  and  which  they  were  going  to 
take  home  in  little  tins  to  their  friends  who  could  not 
come. 

The  priests  were  making  piles  of  money  down  here 
by  the  sale  of  oil  and  water,  by  the  administration  of 
the  holy  services  of  their  Church,  by  voluntary  contri- 
butions, and  so  forth.  They  were  worming  their  way 
amongst  the  sufferers,  comforting  the  excited,  exciting 
the  weak-minded  ;  and  here  this  crowd  was  prepared  to 
pass  the  night,  as  it  had  already  passed  several,  with  their 
mattresses  wedged  tightly  one  against  the  other,  regard- 
less of  the  poisonous  vapours  around  them.  Several 
babies,  I  heard  afterwards,  were  killed  in  this  crush,  and 
I  wondered  if  the  Madonna's  healing  power  could  avert 
the  sickness  which  must  arise  from  the  pestilential 
stench. 

The  interior  of  the  church  is  not  very  striking  except 
for  the  crowd  and  the  colouring.  Within  a  gilded  box, 
on  a  kind  of  altar  (frrpo<r/cvvrfTijptov)  the  celebrated 
fUobv  is  enclosed.  Its  height  is  scarcely  a  foot,  and  its 
width  only  one  and  a  half  The  head  of  the  Virgin  and 
the  angel  Gabriel  only  are  seen  through  holes,  the  rest 
is  hidden  with  gold  and  precious  stones. 

Before  this  the  pilgrims  were  bending  in  deep  adora- 


TEN  OS.  245 


tion  and  devoutly  kissing  the  holes.  They  have  done 
well  to  protect  the  picture  itself  from  the  ravages  of  the 
Greek  kisses,  by  which  they  wear  all  their  eikons  away, 
reminding  us  of  the  statue  of  Hercules  at  Agrigentum, 
the  mouth  and  chin  of  which  were  worn  away  by  the 
kisses  of  the  faithful,  as  Cicero  tells  us  (*  In  Ver/  ii. 
443).  The  lamps,  too,  which  are  hung  all  round  the 
church  are  but  the  successors  of  the  aa^so-Tos  Xv^^os  of 
antiquity,  which  they  still  hang  not  only  in  the  temples, 
but  in  the  sacraria  of  their  own  private  houses.  Then  the 
procession,  too,  had  its  equivalent*  in  the  ancient  cult ; 
except  in  name  things  are  in  very  truth  but  little  changed. 

Close  to  the  sacred  picture  stood  a  tin  erection  for 
the  yellow  candles,  which  were  being  constantly  put  .up  ; 
in  a  quarter  of  an  hour  I  counted  more  than  one  hundred, 
some  as  thick  as  a  man's  arm.  Many  leave  handker- 
chiefs on  this  candlestick  for  hours,  and  then  return  to 
take  them  away,  believing  that,  with  the  grease  that  has 
fallen  on  them,  they  have  been  imbued  with  virtue. 
Above  the  sacred  picture  from  the  roof  was  hanging  a 
golden  oil  lamp  with  red  lights,  presented  by  an  Athe- 
nian tobacconist.  It  is  thought  very  efficacious  to  have 
bits  of  cotton  dipped  in  this,  and  a  man  is  employed  from 
morning  to  night  dipping  these  in  and  handing  them  to 
the  pilgrims. 

How  curious  is  the  mixture  of  faces — eager  mothers 
with  paralysed  children  ;  old  men  who  have  vowed  to 
kiss  this  picture  once  before  they  died ;  robbers,  too, 
who  have  escaped  from  justice,  but  not  from  the 
prickings  of  their  own  conscience  ! 

A  Greek  crowd  is  imaginative,  witty,  full  of  fun  ;  one 
party  of  pilgrims  was  jesting  with  another,  and  the  greatest 
good-nature  prevailed.  A  suitable  enigma  was  asked  in 
my  hearing  amidst  peals  of  laughter.     Twelve  oxen,  four 


246  THE   CYC  LADES. 


rakes,  one  hundred  and  fifty  reapers,  and  the  crop  was 
only  three  bushels  of  corn  ?  The  answer  proved  it  to 
be  a  sort  of  religious  joke,  treasured  doubtless  for  the 
occasion.  Twelve  apostles,  four  evangelists,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  Psalms  teach  us  about  a  Trinity. 

Another  joke  which  I  heard  on  the  next  day,  which 
proved  to  be  wet,  I  thought  decidedly  better:  *  A  church 
dome,  sir,  with  only  one  pillar  to  support  it  ? '  The  allu- 
sion to  my  umbrella  was  obvious. 

Down  in  the  town  quite  another  scene  greeted  us. 
Those  pilgrims  who  had  effected  their  cure  or  done  their 
devotions  were  enjoying  themselves  vastly  in  the  cafh. 
Dancing  was  the  order  of  the  night ;  those  curious  weird 
dances  of  the  Greek  islands,  for  example,  the  a-vproSy  a 
wavy  line  of  five  or  six  women,  hand  in  hand,  and  led 
by  a  pocket  handkerchief  by  one  man,  whose  acrobatic 
executions  were  wonderful  to  behold.  Then  there  was 
the  rapid  dance  performed  by  rows  of  men  with  their 
arms  round  each  other's  shoulders,  four  steps  backwards, 
four  forwards,  with  pointed  toe,  first  slowly,  with  the 
pace  increased  till  I  was  almost  dazzled  by  its  rapidity. 

A  man,  a  noted  dancer,  performed  for  the  benefit  of 
the  others  who  are  tired  :  he  turned  somersaults  in  his 
white  fusianeUa ;  he  brandished  knives  in  an  alarming 
manner  as  he  rushed  to  and  fro ;  altogether  he  was  a 
terrible  performer,  an  Albanian  Greek  from  the  mainland 
mountains,  they  said. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  great  day,  March  25, 
fresh  steamers  discharged  crowds  of  sickly-looking  in- 
dividuals, for  the  night  had  been  rough  and  a  perfect 
hurricane  was  blowing. 

Prior  to  the  procession  an  interesting  ceremony  took 
place  in  the  church,  to  which  I  gained  admittance 
through  the  kindness  of  my  friend.     With  doors  closed 


TENOS,  247 


and  windows  bolted,  to  exclude  the  common  herd,  the 
miraculous  picture  was  taken  out  of  its  box  to  be 
washed,  and  when  it  came  out  of  its  retirement  I 
strained  my  eyes  to  see  it ;  certainly  it  looked  old  and 
black  enough  for  anything,  but  it  was  by  no  means  a 
work  of  art,  resembling  an  early  German  painting. 
Some  roughly  carved  ornaments  stuck  on  with  wax 
adorned  the  frame,  many  of  which  fell  off ;  those  that 
did  and  those  that  were  loose  the  officiating  priest  dis- 
tributed as  great  prizes  to  the  eager  few  who  by  favour 
or  payment  had  gained  admittance.  A  priest  then 
wiped  the  picture  with  cotton  wool,  which  material  was 
eagerly  scrambled  for  afterwards.  Then  the  frame  was 
washed  with  water  three  or  four  times,  and  the  water 
which  came  off  was  collected  in  cans  and  again  dis- 
tributed to  those  who  had  brought  phials  with  them  on 
purpose  to  receive  it 

Three  rich  blind  Greeks  next  had  a  special  service 
performed  for  their  benefit ;  '  their  last  chance  of  re- 
covery,' whispered  my  friend  to  me.  How  eager  the 
poor  things  were!  and  how  hard  they  prayed  as  the 
priest  placed  the  picture  on  their  heads,  allowed  them  to 
kiss  it,  and  applied  it  to  their  foreheads  and  their  eyes  ! 
It  was  a  melancholy  sight,  not  easily  forgotten. 

Then  the  picture  was  restored  to  its  shrine,  locked 
up  again,  and  the  people  who  had  been  clamouring  out- 
side were  re-admitted.  At  ten  o'clock  the  mystic  pro- 
cession started  on  its  tour  round  the  town.  Bombs 
(fida-KovXa)  were  exploded  as  soon  as  the  '  litany,*  as  it  is 
called,  appeared  on  the  threshold  of  the  church.  All  the 
bells  of  Tenos  pealed,  salutes  from  ships  in  the  harbour 
rq^ponded,  and,  amidst  drizzling  rain  and  a  piercing 
wind,  the  procession  set  off  on  its  way. 

The  sea  of  men  rolled  beneath  me,  for  I  had  secured 


248  THE  CYCLADES, 


a  seat  for  the  occasion  on  a  balcony ;  and  as  it  went 
past  it  looked  like  a  carpet  sparkling  with  every 
colour — gold-embroidered  tunics,  snow-white  fustanella^ 
gorgeously  embroidered  skirts  and  vests  from  Asia 
sparkling  with  gold  and  silver  coins,  rich  furs,  and  the 
more  humble  green  and  blue  dresses  of  the  islanders, 
mingled  with  a  tinge  of  gaudy  parasols  and  tall  hats 
from  the  more  civilised  Athens.  It  was  a  sight  to  rivet 
and  dazzle  one. 

''Ep)(^eTac,  ip')(STaL !  (it  comes)  was  heard  on  all  sides  in 
a  dull  murmur  ;  the  procession  was  coming,  and  the  crowd 
solemnly  divided  so  as  to  make  a  passage  for  the  priests. 
On  the  steps  of  the  sanctuary  the  priests  were  marshalled, 
in  rich  vestments,  carrying  banners  round  the  holy  slKiav ; 
then  as  a  breath  of  wind  disturbs  a  pool  so  did  the 
advent  of  the  procession  disturb  the  almost  breathless 
crowd  below.  Everyone  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  and 
lowered  his  head  in  silence  as  it  passed  ;  and  then  when 
it  was  gone  the  murmur  and  the  noise  again  increased — 
the  sacred  ceremony  was  over. 

Down  by  the  harbour,  in  the  agora,  a  prayer  was 
held  ;  the  crowd  shouted  fiyTc.)  (*  Let  her  live ! '  i.e.  thef 
Madonna),  and  the  picture  was  taken  back  to  its  home. 
Scarcely  had  the  *  litany  '  returned  to  the  church  than 
the  town  was  alive  with  a  din  of  another  sort ;  namely, 
that  made  by  the  criers  and  steamer  agents  announcing 
their  immediate  departure.  But  first  of  all  a  large  crowd 
was  assembled  round  the  peristyle  of  the  church  to  get 
portions  of  sacred  bread  which  was  being  doled  out  by 
servitors.  Kyrios  Kargades  gave  us  a  huge  piece  and 
a  picture  of  the  eikon,  which  had  occupied  our  attention 
so  much. 

After  midday  the  steamers  sailed  away,  crowded  with 
eager,  struggling  pilgrims  —  hungry,  sleepy,  worn-out, 


TENOS.  249 


wretched,  for  the  most  part,  after  the  week's  dissipation ; 
but  first  of  all  the  wide-winged  report  of  miracles  was 
let  out  amongst  them.  They  did  not  see  the  happy- 
cured  ones  ;  these  were  kept  back  wisely,  no  doubt 
under  the  excuse  that  the  excitement  of  being  exposed 
to  the  admiration  and  wonder  of  so  great  a  crowd  might 
be  too  much  for  their  nerves  ;  but  printed  accounts  of 
miracles  wrought  were  handed  to  each  pilgrim  as  he 
went — no  matter  if  it  were  the  same  list  that  was  given 
to  him  the  year  before — he  takes  it  home  to  read  to  his 
friends,  who  will  then  be  eager  to  visit  so  marvellous  a 
shrine  in  the  following  year. 

The  widespread  honour  paid  to  the  Madonna  of 
Tenos  throughout  Greece  is  wonderful.  If  a  peasant 
girl  is  ill  she  vows  what  she  likes  best  to  the  Queen 
of  queens ;  on  recovery  she  reflects  that  it  is  her  hair. 
Accordingly,  next  year  she  takes  or  sends  her  long 
tresses  as  a  present  to  the  shrine,  reminding  one  of 
what  Pausanias  saw  at  Titane,  in  Sicyonia,  for  he  could 
not  see  plainly  a  statue  of  Hygeia  for  the  quantity  of 
hair  and  silk  stuff  which  women  had  hung  up  as  a 
sacrifice  to  it  A  mother  perhaps  vows  her  sick  daugh- 
ter, when  on  the  point  of  death,  to  the  Madonna ;  the 
daughter  recovers,  and  does  not  fall  in  with  her  mother's 
wishes,  so  the  mother  has  to  make  a  pilgrimage,  to  Tenos 
to  appease  the  Madonna's  wrath,  and  does  not  escape 
without  making  a  handsome  present  to  the  shrine. 


250  THE  CYCLADES. 


2.   The  Island  Itself. 

A  year  later,  when  I  reached  St.  Nicholas  one 
sunny  afternoon  in  March  by  steamer  from  Mykonos, 
the  vast  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  island  was 
something  indescribable.  We  skirted  the  green  tufa 
rocks  on  the  south  side,  and  put  into  the  open  road- 
stead of  St.  Nicholas,  with  no  other  vessel  in  it  but  our 
own,  one  tiny  boat  sufficed  to  remove  all  that  was  to 
be  deposited  at  Tenos  this  time.  The  green  pier  was  all 
our  own  this  time,  and  into  the  little  agora  chairs  were 
brought  for  us  to  sit  upon  and  wait  for  the  eparch,  to 
whom  we  had  a  letter.  The  stillness  of  death  seemed 
to  reign  over  the  place  that  we  had  left  in  such  a  hurri- 
cane of  excitement.  But  now  we  could  study  the  spot 
and  its  inhabitants  at  our  leisure,  and  notice  things 
which  in  the  bustle  had  escaped  us. 

The  town  looked  especially  white  and  clean,  this 
whiteness  being  relieved  only  by  occasional  coloured 
carpets  and  rugs  hung  over  the  balconies,  and  yellow 
Venetian  blinds,  for  the  most  part  closed.  They  are 
a  better  class  of  house  than  you  find  in  most  islands, 
many  having  two  storeys  and  slated  roofs,  whilst  others 
are  buried  peacefully  in  olive  gardens,  with  a  few  palms 
here  and  there.  The  churches,  too,  are  white,  and  have 
curious  three-storeyed  minarets.  The  population  just 
now  looked  sleepy  and  civilised  ;  indeed,  as  regards  dress 
they  were  thoroughly  European,  being  in  constant  com- 
munication with  Syra,  and  at  the  festival  time  they 
have  an  opportunity  of  learning  the  fashions  from 
Athenian  Greeks. 


TENOS,  251 


It  was  not  our  purpose  to  tarry  long  in  the  town  on 
this  visit,  and  at  break  of  day  mules  were  ready  to  take 
us  into  the  interior,  to  explore  those  round  hills  above, 
for  Tenos  is  an  extensive  island,  being  an  eparchy  to 
itself  and  having  a  population  of  30,000  souls,  of  whom 
many  are  Roman  Catholics  ;  for,  next  to  Syra,  Tenos  has 
perhaps  of  all  the  islands  in  the  archipelago  been  most 
in  communication  with  the  West.  It  is  only  160  years 
since  the  last  Proveditore  of  Venice  left  Tenos,  and  the 
last  stronghold  of  Christendom  in  the  archipelago 
definitely  became  Turkish. 

That  evening  was  the  last  but  one  of  Carnival,  an 
evening  when  masqueraders  {KovKovUpoC)  parade  the 
streets,  pay  hurried  visits  to  their  friends,  and  disturb 
the  quiet  of  the  evening  with  uncouth  yells.  This  fell 
rather  flat  upon  us,  but  served  to  remind  us  that  it 
would  be  necessary  to  provide  for  the  morrow  ;  and  a 
lamb  was  purchased  to  fortify  us  against  the  austerities 
of  the  Lenten  fast. 

We  took  a  quiet  stroll  that  evening  up  to  the  Church 
of  the  Evangelistria,  and  wandered  through  the  corridors 
which  in  another  three  weeks  would  be  peopled,  as  we 
saw  them,  with  pilgrims.  In  one  of  these  corridors  we 
saw  some  remains  of  antiquity — a  statue  of  the  Roman 
period.  Antiquities  in  Tenos  are  rather  meagre.  Strabo, 
the  traveller's  vade  mecum  in  these  parts,  tells  us  that 
Tenos  had  only  one  town,  and  that  that  was  small ;  but 
by  certain  inscriptions  we  find  that  the  island  was  divided 
into  demes,  the  names  of  which  bear  no  relation  to  the 
present  nomenclature. 

It  is  easy  to  see  that  the  old  town  existed  where  now 
St  Nicholas  stands,  for  just  outside  the  town,  on  the  hill 
slope,  are  traces  of  ancient  walls,  nearly  six  feet  thick, 
by  the  side  of  which  the  present  mule-track  goes,  until 


252  THE  CYCLADES, 


they  end  in  a  sort  of  acropolis  or  two  watchtowers  about 
forty  feet  apart,  and  of  which  walls  twenty  feet  high  are 
still  left  standing.  In  the  town  itself  several  recent  dis- 
coveries have  led  to  the  identification  of  various  build- 
ings. There  was  a  jetty,  which  is  still  visible,  in  the 
water,  and  where  the  main  street,  leading  to  the  Evan- 
gelistria,  turns  out  of  the  agora  was  once  the  gymnasium, 
the  portico  of  which  was  found  in  a  garden  opposite ; 
and  probably  seventeen  small  pillars  standing  four  feet 
apart  belonged  to  this  building. 

But  there  is  no  trace  whatsoever  of  that  renowned 
temple  of  Poseidon,  where,  as  we  learn  from  the  Elgin 
Marbles,  tablets  were  put  up  to  the  victors  in  the  great 
singing  contests  held  here.  The  temple  was  erected  to 
Poseidon,  so  runs  the  legend  told  us  by  Pliny,  because 
he  cast  the  vipers  (T^i/ta  S^vBva)  out  of  the  island.  Nor 
is  there  a  trace  of  the  temple  of  Dionysos  mentioned 
by  Strabo.  All  over  the  island,  as  elsewhere  amongst 
the  Cyclades,  there  are  traces  of  watchtowers.  One  at 
Ando,  near  Cardiani,  is  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
but  inferior  to  those  in  Andros,  Amorgos,  and  Keos. 
Archaeologists  have  not  gained  much  out  of  Tenos, 
though  Ross  tells  us  he  was  well  pleased  with  a  statue 
of  Hermes  he  secured  here. 

At  eight  o'clock  the  following  morning  we  were  in 
the  saddle,  and  the  peculiar  Teniote  mule-cry  *  o^o)  vtss  ' 
rang  pleasantly  in  our  ears  as  we  climbed  the  hillsides, 
bare  and  bleak  as  they  are,  except  for  the  large  low  fig- 
trees  which  spread  their  branches  far  and  wide.  Im- 
mediately our  eyes  were  caught  by  the  great  character- 
istic of  Tenos,  namely,  the  dovecotes.  Every  field  has 
one,  and  curious  objects  they  g,re,  with  bricks  placed 
crisscross  for  holes,  and  quaint  imitations  of  doves  on 
the  eaves.     Below  each  is  a  room  for  the  agricultural 


TENOS.  253 


implements  of  the  husbandmen  who  own  the  field,  and 
the  birds  swarm  around. 

Is  Tenos  sacred  to  Venus  ?  I  thought,  and  then  a 
strange  parallel  occurred  to  me.  Surely  Delos  was 
celebrated  for  its  doves  in  ancient  days,  and  A^Xios 
Ko\vfi^rji7)s  was  a  well-known  proverb  in  ancient  Hellas. 
And  here  they  are  again,  a  speciality  of  the  Panhellenic 
shrine.  Some  of  these  dovecotes  are  excessively  pretty, 
when  the  clay  soil  which  is  placed  on  their  roofs  has 
streaked  them  with  orange  and  yellow,  and  when  the 
little  chapel,  with  perhaps  ancient  pillars  at  its  entrance, 
is  joined  to  them ;  for  every  proprietor  in  Tenos  possesses 
a  chapel  as  well  as  a  dovecote  on  his  holding,  and  these 
are  often  side  by  side.  Here  the  farmer  has  his  ware- 
house (airodrjKTj)  where  he  keeps  his  honey,  his  wine, 
his  distillery  for  making  raki,  and  other  produce  of  his 
soil.  In  former  years  a  great  trade  in  doves  went  on  in 
Tenos,  but  latterly  very  few  more  than  are  used  for  home 
consumption  are  kept,  and  many  dovecotes  are  empty 
and  crumbling  into  ruins.  Wherever  you  go  in  Tenos 
these  yellow  crumbling  ruins  of  a  bygone  industry  form 
a  pleasant  object  in  the  landscape,  and  I  could  not  help 
wondering  whether  the  Venetians  got  their  taste  for 
doves  from  their  island  dependency. 

Crowning  the  loftiest  3ummit  of  Tenos  is  the  old 
Venetian  town  and  fortress  of  Ex6burgo  covered  with 
ruins  around  the  rock  which  is  bright  with  an  orange- 
coloured  lichen  ;  and  two  ruined  churches  with  curious 
towers,  half  Oriental,  half  Italian,  recall  memories  of  the 
Queen  of  the  Adriatic.  Everything  is  now  delivered  up 
to  the  jackals  and  the  ravens  ;  not  a  house  has  a  roof  on, 
the  cellars  are  full  of  water  and  lovely  maidenhair  ;  but 
the  streets  can  still  be  traced,  and  the  importance  of  this 
Venetian  colony  is  attested  by  its  ruihs. 


254  THE  CYCLADES, 


A  superb  view  on  the  summit  amply  repaid  the  climb. 
Every  one  of  the  Cyclades  is  spread  out  as  though  on  a 
map  at  one's  feet  With  a  clear  sky  even  the  Sporades 
may  be  seen  ;  and  scarcely  any  distance  off  lies  Delos, 
the  sacred  speck  of  ancient  worship ;  and  to  the  north  the 
snowy  mountain  peaks  of  Euboea,  hugging  the  mainland 
of  Greece,  fill  up  the  horizon. 

From  this  rock  of  Exoburgo  it  is  interesting  to  look 
back  on  the  mediaeval  fortunes  of  this  island.  In  i678, 
when  Spon  and  Wheeler  visited  it,  there  were  only 
three  or  four  houses  down  by  the  quay  amongst  the 
ruins  of  the  old  town  where  St.  Nicholas  now  stands,  and 
on  this  rock  of  Ex6burgo  the  inhabitants  of  the  whole 
island  could  take  refuge  in  case  of  danger.  Even  the 
terrible  Barbarossa,  who  carried  devastation  far  and  wide 
in  the  Cyclades,  could  not  take  this  fortress,  and  when 
it  was  surrendered  to  the  Turks  in  17 14  it  was  only 
owing  to  the  pusillanimity  of  the  then  Venetian  governor. 
Ross  when  he  came  in  1835  found  two  convents  still 
inhabited  up  here,  but  now  it  is  nothing  but  a  deserted 
eyrie,  like  all  its  comrades  in  the  -^gean  Sea. 

Tenos,  owing  to  this  fortress,  has  always  been  a  strong 
place  ;  it  offered  a  long  resistance  to  the  Venetians  in 
the  first  instance,  but  eventually  became  a  fief  of  the 
Ghisi  family,  until  it  was  regularly  governed  by  a 
Proveditore  from  Venice.  Barbarossa  besieged  it  in  vain, 
and  in  1570  a  renegade  Hungarian,  Piali  Pasha,  made  a 
descent  on  the  island,  spent  ten  days  in  ravaging  it,  but 
failed  to  take  it,  owing  to  Ex6burgo  ;  three  years  later 
a  Venetian  governor,  Proveditore  Moro,  repulsed  the 
Turks  again,  so  they  gave  up  the  attempt  as  hopeless. 
Tournefort  in  1700  found  it  in  a  state  of  great  dilapidation : 
*  Fourteen  badly  dressed  soldiers  formed  the  garrison, 
seven  of  whom  are  French  deserters.     The  Proveditore's 


TENOS.  2S% 


post  does  not  bring  him  in  two  thousand  crowns,  and 
therefore  at  Venice  they  look  upon  it  as  a  place  of 
mortification.' 

No  wonder  fourteen  years  later  we  learn  that  Pro- 
veditore  Balbi,  not  caring  about  his  post,  in  spite  of  the 
supplications  of  the  Roman  Catholic  families,  who-  came 
in  a  body  to  implore  him  to  stay,  delivered  it  up  to  the 
Turks,  and  left  it  with  full  military  honours.  On  reach- 
ing Venice  Balbi  was  put  in  prison  for  life,  but  the  deed 
was  done,  and  the  last  stronghold  of  Christendom  was 
lost  to  Venice,  and  two  hundred  Roman  Catholic  families 
were  transported  to  the  shores  of  Africa. 

Ex6burgo  must  have  been  inaccessible ;  indeed,  it 
was  all  we  could  do,  scrambling  amongst  ruins  of  houses 
and  walls,  to  get  down.  It  must  have  been  a  wretchedly 
cold  spot,  too,  and  I  do  not  wonder  at  Proveditore  Balbi 
being  desirous  to  quit  it.  Luckily  for  us  it  was  a  fine, 
warm  day,  but  for  most  of  the  time  we  had  it  in  sight 
it  was  enveloped  in  a  misty  cloud,  and  when  the  north 
wind  blows  it  must  be  simply  intolerable. 

Another  striking  characteristic  of  Tenos  are  the  cow- 
sheds {^oihtairriTva)  erected  in  fields  out  of  the  stone 
peculiar  to  Tenos  and  Andros,  being  large  slabs  which 
they  easily  break  off  out  of  the  quarries.  The  result  is 
that  these  cowsheds  iipmediately  strike  the  traveller  as 
ancient  Hellenic  remains  of  the  Pelasgic  period,  for  in 
these  cowsheds  you-  might  almost  picture  yourself  in  the 
gallery  of  Tiryns.  I  must  confess  to  feeling  doubtful 
about  the  first  I  saw,  but  when  they  were  frequently 
repeated — and,  moreover,  I  saw  terraces  for  holding  up 
earth,  made  of  the  same  stone,  and  the  ceilings  of 
churches  and  houses,  too,  where  in  other  islands  they  use 
canes — the  truth  became  obvious. 

Tenos  is  very  Roman  Catholic  still.     At  the  time  of 


256  THE  CVCLADES. 


Tournefort  we  learn  that  in  processions  Latin  ecclesiastics 
actually  took  precedence  of  Greek,  and  in  every  Greek 
church  was  an  altar  reserved  exclusively  for  the  Latins. 

On  leaving  Ex6burgo  we  wended  our  way  north- 
wards through  villages,  bearing  evidence  of  tlie  Latin 
rule,  entered  by  narrow  gateways  and  containing  narrow 
streets,  with  houses  overhanging  the  footways  ;  so  that 
mules  have  to  be  unloaded  at  one  end  of  the  village, 
and  the  baggage  carried  through  and  put  on  again  at  the 
other  end.  Over  the  doors  were  lots  of  escutcheons  of 
the  Latin  families,  and  at  the  village  of  Loutra,  so  called 
from  some  baths  which  were  there,  we  found  several 
objects  of  interest ;  principal  amongst  them  perhaps  was 
the  nunnery,  presided  over  by  an  English  lady,  Miss 
Leeves,  who  has  established  herself  in  this  remote  corner 
of  the  earth.  She  once  lived  in  Eubcea  with  her  brother 
and  his  wife,  but  in  1856  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Leeves  and  their 
child  were  murdered,  and  the  sister  removed  to  Tenos ; 
and  here  in  this  quiet  valley  Miss  Leeves  has  assembled 
thirty-three  nuns,  and  fifty-five  young  Greek  ladies  are 
educated  under  her  roof 

Again  Loutri  deserves  a  visit  from  an  architectural 
point  of  view.  The  streets  are  narrow  and  quaint,  and 
over  the  door  of  each  house  there  is  a  curiously  carved 
fanlight,  semicircular  and  in  marble ;  in  different  com- 
partments of  these  are  represented  doves,  horses,  ships, 
palm  trees,  according  to  the  taste  or  occupation  of  the 
owner.  Now  and  again,  too,  you  can  see  the  escutcheon 
of  a  Venetian  family  which  once  occupied  the  house, 
whilst  on  the  doorstep  may  be  sitting  now  a  Greek 
mother  spinning  away  as  she  sings  her  vavapvafuiy  or 
lullaby,  to  her  child,  which  she  rocks  with  one  foot  in  its 
cradle,  improvised  out  of  a  kneading  trough. 

Loutri  is  a  very  picturesque  spot  indeed,  worthy  of 


TENDS.  2  S7 


being  visited  by  an  artist.  Below  lies  the  only  fertile 
strip  of  flat  country  in  Tenos,  for  from  the  sea  the 
island  looks  like  a  huge  ball  rising  out  of  the  waves.  In- 
stances of  the  religious  tendency  of  the  inhabitants  met 
us  at  every  turn.  We  never  passed  a  well  without  see- 
ing in  its  vaulted  roof  a  frescoed  picture  of  the  Madonna 
or  a  marble  relief  of  some  saint,  wreathed  now,  through 
neglect,  with  maidenhair,  but  none  the  less  pretty  for 
that.  That  evening  we  returned  late  to  St.  Nicholas, 
and  actually  passed  the  night  at  an  inn  ;  it  was  delight- 
ful both  to  mind  and  body  once  more  *  to  take  mine 
ease  at  mine  inn '  after  months  of  travel  amongst  hos- 
pitable, but  occasionally  .rather  boring,  families,  whose 
idea  of  hospitality  was  never  to  leave  us  alone,  for  fear 
we  should  be  dull. 

The  following  day  was  '  clean  Monday '  {xaOapa 
SsvTdpa)  in  the  Greek  Church,  the  first  day  of  Lent,  on 
which  the  pious  eat  only  clean  food,  and  do  not  cook, 
so  as  not  to  have  to  dirty  their  saucepans.  It  is  curious 
that  custom  has  converted  this  day  into  one  of  the  most 
festive  of  carnival  feasts,  for  they  dance,  they  drink,  and 
otherwise  amuse  themselves ;  in  fact,  most  of  the  men 
make  a  sort  of  Bacchic  orgy  of  the  day,  cleaning  out 
their  internals  with  wine,  so  as  to  be  prepared  for  the 
Lenten  fast ;  only  they  scrupulously  abstain  from  flesh 
or  fish. 

Our  programme  for  this  day  was  first  to  visit  a 
famous  nunnery  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountain  called 
KaiKpo^ovvo,  which  overshadows  St.  Nicholas.  This 
is  the  only  extensive  nunnery  left  in  the  Cyclades  ;  the 
others  are  either  closed  or  on  the  point  of  being  so  at 
the  expiration  of  a  few  aged  lives.  But  this  nunnery 
owes  its  exiistence  to  its  connection  with  the  Church  of 
Evangelistria,   and   is   supported  out  of  the  pilgrims* 

S 


258  THE  CYC  LADES. 


pence  We  rode  along  the  dry  bed  of  a  torrent  for 
some  time  before  beginning  our  ascent ;  from  a  distance, 
and  even  when  you  are  close  to  it,  the  nunnery  looks 
like  a  considerable-sized  fortified  village  perched  on  the 
mountain  side  ;  it  has  a  wall  all  round  it,  and  a  gateway, 
just  outside  which  is  an  inn  for  friends  who  come  to 
visit  the  inmates.  There  are  no  nuns  in  all,  and  each 
nun  has  her  separate  little  house ;  the  church  rises  in 
the  midst,  consequently  they  have  streets,  or  rather  alleys 
radiating  from  this  to  where  the  nuns  dwell,  in  which 
streets  pigs,  poultry,  and  filth  abound,  as  in  any  other 
Greek  community. 

We  entered  the  gateway  under  the  image  of  our 
Lady  of  the  Assumption,  who  presides  over  the  place, 
and  were  looked  upon  with  wondering  eyes  by  some 
nuns,  whose  infirmities  would  not  admit  of  their  attend- 
ing the  ser\'ice  which  was  going  on  just  then,  so  they 
were  sitting  and  basking  in  the  sunshine  instead.  These 
Greek  nuns  do  not  look  at  all  like  their  Western  sisters  : 
they  tie  a  black  handkerchief  under  their  chin  to  the 
top  of  their  heads,  like  a  bib,  and  another  over  their 
heads  ;  on  ordinary  occasions  they  wear  a  black  gown  and 
shawl,  but  in  church  they  have  cassock-like  coats,  after 
the  fashion  of  the  priests. 

We  asked  for  the  lady  superior  {ff^ovyi^ivriX  but  were 
told  that  she  was  in  church,  and  that  the  'hours '  were  going 
on,  but  if  we  liked  we  could  go  and  join  the  worshippers. 
The  sight  was  curious  as  we  entered  the  church,  thickly 
tenanted  with  nuns,  young  and  old,  withered  and  pretty, 
mumbling,  chanting,  and  bowing.  It  was  to  us  a  weary 
*  hour,'  standing  in  a  stall,  whilst  the  nuns  went  through 
their  service,  which  consists  in  reading,  the  Psalter  with 
a  *  Gloria  Patri.*  Then  they  have  the  metani(2y  that  is  to 
say,  bowing  and  kissing  the  ground  three  times  after  every 


TENOS.  259 

fourth  Psalm,  and  four  times  at  the  end  of  every  tenth 
Psalm.  The  proper  number  of  these  metanicB  in  twenty- 
four  hours  is  300,  I  was  told,  but  they  are  not  obligatory  ; 
it  was  certainly  wonderful  to  see  how  active  some  of 
the  decrepid  old  nuns  were  in  performing  their  metanice, 
and  their  perpetual  prostrations  must  have  an  excellent 
effect  on  limbs  that  otherwise  would  be  stiffened  with 
years  of  inactivity. 

Then  how  rapidly  the  officiating  nun  said  her  Kyrie 
Eleisons !  which  words  have  to  be  repeated  a  certain 
number  of  times  at  every  service.  On  a  day  like  *  clean 
Monday '  everybody  is  supposed  to  attend  all  the  *  hours.' 
In  former  days,  before  the  Eastern  Church  got  slovenly, 
there  used  to  be  nine  *  hours,'  but  now  they  are  done  by 
'aggregation,'  that  is  to  say,  into  Matins  can  be  run 
Lauds  and  Primes  ;  into  the  Liturgy  can  be  run  Tierces 
and  Sexts ;  and  into  Vespers,  Nones  and  Complines. 
Through  the  services  the  nuns  wade  all  by  themselves, 
chanting  and  singing  everything ;  only  a  special  priest  is 
kept  to  perform  the  incensing  and  the  mysteries  behind 
the  screen.  The  church  is  covered  with  wall  paintings.- 
How  terrified  these  poor  women  must  be  if  they  believe 
all  the  horrors  depicted  on  the  walls  of  their  church  by 
the  conventional  art  of  the  Byzantine  School ! 

After  the  service  we  were  guided  by  a  troop  of  nuns 

to   the  guest  chamber.     The  lady  superior,  PaXsia  by 

name,  received  us  cordially  in  their  plain  room,  furnished 

with  the  usual  divan,  sacred  pictures,  and  a  curious  clock. 

Several  sisters,  with  hypocritical  faces,  sat  around  us, 

talking  for  a  long  time  about  their  'lovely,  unworldly 

life,'  and  then  proceeded  to  tell  us  how  poor  they  were, 

and  produced  home-made  objects  for  sale — netted  silk 

mittens,  handkerchiefs,  &c.  some  of  which  we  had  to  buy. 

Their  poverty  is  evident,  for  many  of  them  have  not 

s  2 


26o  THE  CYCLADES, 


a  penny  of  their  own,  and  are  dependent  solely  on  the 
eight  or  ten  francs  largess  given  monthly  by  the  Church 
of  Evangelistria  for  clothing  and  food. 

Palsia  told  us  much  about  the  working  of  her  nunnery  : 
how  every  five  years  a  superior  is  chosen  by  the  votes 
of  all  the  nuns  ;  she  is  assisted  in  her  duties  by  a  council 
of  four,  chosen  in  the  same  manner,  one  out  of  each  of  the 
four  degrees,  namely,  novices,  hooded  nuns,  crossbearers, 
and  those  of  the  highest  order  (jieyaXoarxvfJ^ot).  She  told 
us,  too,  how  many  of  her  children,  as  she  called  them,  had 
really  never  seen  anything  of  the  outer  world,  and  how 
sweet  to  them  from  the  cradle,  when  deserted  by  parents 
and  friends,  had  become  the  austerity  of  their  secluded 
life.  Now  that  Lent  has  begun,  the  nuns  who  are  strong 
enough  eat  absolutely  nothing  for  the  first  three  days, 
drinking  only  a  little  water.  After  that,  rice  boiled  in 
water  is  to  be  their  daily  food  except  on  Saturdays,  when 
they  may  put  a  little  oil  in.  This  is  their  Lenten  fare  ; 
when  fasting  time  is  over  they  sometimes  eat  fish  and 
drink  a  little  wine,  but  never  does  meat  pollute  their 
mouths.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  believe  in  the 
atomic  diet  on  which  a  Greek  can  subsist  until  you  have 
been  days  with  a  muleteer,  whose  only  food  is  olives  and 
a  crust  of  bread  ;  and  yet  he  never  gets  tired. 

Patsia,  luckily  for  us,  was  not  so  strict  a  disciplinarian 
as  some  we  met,  and  we  were  allowed  to  eat  some  of  our 
lamb  that  we  had  brought  with  us  ;  nay,  even  she  went 
so  far  as  to  supply  us  with  figs  and  wine  out  of  their 
own  storeroom,  though  it  was  the  first  day  of  Lent  After 
our  meal  was  over  a  rather  pretty  sister  was  told  off  to 
conduct  us  round  the  place :  we  wandered  into  the  houses, 
chatted  with  the  nuns,  saw  their  handiwork,  and  made 
some  more  purchases.  Then  our  friend  took  us  to  the 
cemetery.    What  a  horrible  place  that  was  !  just  a  small 


!  TENOS.  261 


chapel  surrounded  by  a  few  tombs,  marked  by  nothing 
but  sticks,  with  no  other  epitaph  on  than  a  number. 
The  chapel  was  bare  and  unadorned  inside,  except  for 
a  terrifying  wall  painting  representing  the  archangel 
Gabriel,  sword  in  hand,  as  if  ready  to  annihilate  the 
beholder  ;  and  then  our  guide  opened  a  door  to  the  left, 
out  of  which  a  dank,  fetid  smell  issued. 

*  Come  in  and  see  the  charnel-house  (x'^vsim^pLov)^* 
said  she  cheerily.  As  we  entered  by  the  dim  light  we  saw 
rows  of  female  skulls,  which  seemed  to  glare  at  us  with 
indignation  for  disturbing  their  repose.  To  our  left  was 
hanging  what  looked  in  the  uncertain  light  to  be  spiders' 
webs  covered  with  dust.    Our  guide  said  : — 

*  Whenever  a  novice  comes  her  hair  is  cut  off  and 
hung  up  here.  Let  me  see,'  she  said,  pausing  and  shaking 
a  grimy  tangled  mass,  *  this  is  mine,  number  1003  :  when 
I  die  I  shall  be  buried  for  three  years,  dug  up  again,  my 
skull  put  up  on  that  shelf,  my  bones  packed  in  yonder 
cupboard,  and  I  shall  be  entered  in  the  deadbook  as 
number  1003.' 

We  were  not  sorry  to  bid  adieu  to  this  strange 
monastic  village,  and  to  enter  the  world  again.  Our 
path  led  us  through  two  villages  on  the  hillside  ;  at  one 
of  these,  Arnades,  celebrated  for  its  lambs,  and  called 
therefrom,  I  bought  a  pretty  little  ancient  lamp,  which 
a  cottager  had  in  use  in  his  house  ;  further  on  I  picked  up 
on  the  roadside  one  of  those  basalt  stones,  with  grooves 
in  it,  used  in  ancient  times  for  polishing  marble  ;  so 
Tenos,  even  in  its  hill  country,  is  not  without  evidences 
of  antiquity. 

These  hill-set  villages  of  Tenos  are  particularly  dark 
and  gloomy.  You  can  go  from  house  to  house  by  the 
roofs  without  troubling  the  dingy  streets ;  they  have 
steps  by  which  you  can  ascend  from  one  roof  to  the 


262  THE  CYCLADES, 


other ;  and  the  inhabitants  seem  chiefly  to  live  on  their 
roofs,  abandoning  the  filth  below  to  traffic  and  pigs. 

Close  to  Amades  are  two  villages,  called  hv(o  x®/>ia, 
or  the  two  places,  being  quite  close  together  ;  and  here 
we  came  in  for  some  of  the  gaiety  incident  on  the  first 
day  of  Lent ;  the  sound  of  music  and  revelry  filled  the 
valley,  and  from  afar  off  we  descried  the  cause.  All 
the  villagers  had  turned  out  on  the  roofs,  and  on  this 
flat  surface  were  dancing  away  vigorously.  As  no  other 
flat  space  occurs  in  or  near  the  village  they  are  driven  to 
make  a  ballroom  of  their  roof  In  Tenos  they  mend 
their  mud  roofs  with  brick  dust  ground  in  a  mortar  and 
made  into  a  paste ;  this  strengthens  them  and  makes 
them  very  pliable. 

The  dancers  had  put  a  flag  up,  and  spread  a  white 
cloth  on  the  roof  for  their  repast,  which  consisted  of 
olives,  onions,  bread,  and  wine  in  a  large  amphora. 
They  were  dancing  to  the  tune  of  a  sabaunay  and  what 
to  us  was  a  new  instrument,  called  a  monosampilos, 
and  consisting  of  a  small  gourd  fixed  at  one  end  of 
two  reeds  and  a  cow's  horn  at  the  other.  The  music 
produced  by  this  instrument  was  quaint  and  shrill,  like 
that  of  a  bagpipe  or  the  sabounay  which  in  this  case 
was  made  of  the  skin  of  a  goat,  with  all  the  hair  left  on, 
so  that  when  the  musician  put  it  down  it  looked  quite 
alive,  and  palpitated  visibly. 

For  a  long  time  they  continued  to  dance  the  inevi- 
table syrtoSy  until  they  had  had  lusty  and  long  pulls  at 
their  amphora  of  wine — and  the  wine  of  Tenos  is  by  no 
means  light,  for  here  they  made,  and  make  still,  the  far- 
famed  Malvasianor,  or,  as  we  know  it  better,  Malmse> 
wine.  And  in  ancient  times,  on  the  reverse  of  a  Teniote 
coin,  we  see  a  bunch  of  grapes,  with  Poseidon  on  the 
obverse,  pointing  to  the  same  reputation.     Then  they 


TENOS.  263 


started  a  dance  called  by  them  *  the  carnival  dance  ' 
(aTTOKpecoirtKos  ')(^oposf)y  which  they  said  they  were  privi- 
leged to  dance  on  the  first  day  of  Lent  It  was  a  very 
amusing  one  :  eight  men  took  part  in  it  with  arms  crossed, 
and  moved  slowly  in  a  semicircle,  with  a  sort  of  bounding 
step,  resembling  a  mazurka.  Occasionally  the  leader  took 
a  long  stride,  by  way  of  adding  point  to  the  dance,  but 
they  never  indulged  in  the  acrobatic  features  of  the  syrtos, 
and  never  went  so  very  fast ;  the  singing  as  they  danced 
was  the  chief  feature  and  fascination  of  this  carnival 
dance,  and  their  voices,  as  they  moved  round  and  round, 
to  the  shrill  accompanying  music,  had  a  remarkable 
effect  The  words  of  their  song,  which  I  took  down 
afterwards,  formed  a  sort  of  rhyming  alphabetical  love 
song.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  A  stood  for  love  {aydinj). 
%  spoke  of  the  death  {Odvaroi)  which  would  be 
courted  if  that  M  or  apple  {firfkos)  of  Paradise  was 
obdurate.  P  stood  for  poSov,  the  rose,  like  which  she 
smelt  ^  was  the  lucky  flea  (y^vXXos)  which  could  crawl 
over  her  adorable  frame,  and  so  on,  till  12  closed  the 
song  and  the  dance  with  great  emphasis,  imploring  for  a 
favourable  answer  to  the  suit. 

It  was  now  time  for  us  to  bid  farewell,  as  the  shades 
of  evening  were  drawing  on,  and  we  were  some  miles 
from  St.  Nicholas.  We  passed  other  revellers  on  our 
road,  but  stopped  to  look  at  none,  save  a  party  of  small 
children  who  had  got  a  flag,  a  small  bottle  of  wine, 
olives  and  bread,  and  were  imitating  the  revelry  of  their 
elders  on  a  threshing  floor  by  the  roadside. 

Next  morning  early  we  left  St  Nicholas,  doubtless 
for  ever,  and  wound  our  way  on  muleback  along  the 
western  coast  of  Tenos  on  our  way  to  the  northern- 
most demarchy,  Panormos  by  name.  Well  for  us  that 
the  Teniote  mules  were  trustworthy,  for  we  had  to  pass 


264  THE  CYCLADES, 


along  one  of  the  worst  paths  we  had  yet  seen  in  the 
Cyclades — more  like  a  series  of  little  precipices  than  a 
road.  *  Our  mules  are  better  than  those  of  any  other 
island/  remarked  our  muleteer  with  the  usual  insular 
conceit  And  to  prove  it  he  told  me  a  story  of  how  an 
old  blind  man  came  this  way  regularly  on  his  mule  on 
his  way  to  St.  Nicholas  ;  and  not  only  did  he  implicitly 
trust  to  his  mule  down  these  precipitous  paths,  but  he 
left  it  to  the  mule  to  choose  the  house  where  he  should 
stay  when  he  got  to  St.  Nicholas.  *  This  mule  is  very 
fond  of  change/  he  added,  *  consequently  no  one  knows 
when  the  mule  may  not  stop  at  their  door,  and  they  may 
have  the  old  blind  man  as  their  guest' 

Near  the  little  harbour  of  Stavros  we  passed  by  what 
our  guide  pointed  out  to  us  as  the  site  of  the  ruins  of 
the  temple  of  Poseidon,  but  I  could  see  no  grounds  for 
such  an  assertion  on  his  part — only  a  few  foundations 
of  walls  and  the.  traces  of  an  old  watchtower. 

Up  in  the  mountains  all  was  mist  to-day  ;  we  rode 
past  a  hamlet  composed  of  mandras  of  nothing  but 
Teniote  slabs,  which  looked  quite  archaic  through  the 
mist  that  encircled  them,  and  midday  found  us  at 
Kardian^,  a  pretty  place  climbing  up  the  mountain  side, 
and  overhanging  the  sea,  like  a  Riviera  village,  with  a  tall 
white  church  tower  and  pretty  balconies  to  each  house. 
We  lunched  in  one  of  these  festooned  with  vines,  and 
having  large  earthenware  aniphorce  picturesquely  stuck 
about  at  haphazard ;  also  lovely  gourds  which  were  drying 
a  rich  orange  colour,  plants  of  geranium  in  full  bloom  ; 
and  through  olive  trees  we  peeped  down  at  the  sea 
beneath  us  as  we  consumed  our  meal. 

Nothing  can  be  more  trying  than  the  sudden  changes 
of  temperature  in  these  islands.  At  Kardian^  we  basked 
in  the  sunshine ;  half  an  hour  later,  on  ascending  the 


TENOS.  265 


mountain,  we  were  cut  to  pieces  by  a  biting  north  wind  ; 
and  when  we  reached  a  cleft  in  the  mountain  full  of  wind- 
mills, before  reaching  which  I  knew  what  our  fate  would 
be,  we  encountered  one  of  the  most  biting  blasts  I  ever 
felt. 

Tenos  is  especially  noted  for  its  winds.  A  legend 
here  still  tells  you  that  the  winds  live  in  caves  at  the 
north  of  the  island ;  they  tell  you,  too,  that  Michael,  the 
archangel,  once  slew  here  two  refractory  north  winds, 
and  placed  pillars  on  their  tombs,  one  of  which  rocks 
when  the  north  wind  blows.  What  a  curious  survival 
this  is  of  the  legend  of  Hercules,  who  slew  Zetes  and 
Kalais,  sons  of  Boreas,  near  this  island  with  arrows,  over 
whose  tombs  two  sepulchral  stelae  rocked  when  Boreas 
blew! 

There  are  many  legends  about  the  winds,  which  have 
survived  the  lapse  of  ages.  YJvp  Bopda^y  Mr.  Northwind, 
as  they  call  him,  is  always  a  dreaded  visitor.  He  lives, 
they  say,  *  somewhere  up  there,'  pointing  vaguely  towards 
Thrace,  in  a  palace  of  ice  and  snow  ;  but  Mr.  Southwind 
chose  to  blow  one  day  and  melted  it  all,  so  that  nothing 
was  left  save  the  tears,  which  flowed  riverwards.  On  the 
feast  day  at  Tenos  they  say  that  the  wind  -which  blows 
has  conquered  the  other  winds  and  will  prevail  for  the 
rest  of  the  year  ;  when  we  were  there  it  was  one  of  the 
most  biting  north  winds  I  ever  experienced,  and  it  was 
most  probable  that  Kvp  Bopias  would  prevail  for  the  rest 
of  the  year,  for  in  these  islands  the  north  wind  blows 
incessantly  in  summer,  making  them  cool  and  refreshing 
even  in  July  and  August. 

We  reached  Hysternia  after  an  hour's  ride — a  dark, 
gloomy  place,  with  brown  houses  and  brown  pig-dirtied 
streets,  with  nothing  of  interest  save  the  elegant  fanlights 
over  the  doors  and  windows,  differing  considerably  from 


266  THE  CYCLADES, 


those  of  Loutri,  as  they  represented  stars,  the  sun,  &c,  ; 
so  after  a  short  rest  we  pushed  on  to  Pyrgos,  which  is  the 
chief  village  of  this  northern  deme,  where  the  demarch 
lives,  to  whom  we  had  a  letter.  It  is  a  very  flourishing 
place,  and  the  centre  of  the  marble  district,  from  whence 
have  come  all  those  marble  window-tops  we  had  ad- 
mired elsewhere  ;  and  in  the  centre  of  the  village  they 
have  erected  an  elaborate  marble  well,  and  a  marble  cage 
in  which  the  washerwomen  work,  in  the  middle  of  the 
agora.  The  villagers  were  seated  under  a  wide-spreading 
plane-tree  as  we  approached,  from  amongst  whom  the 
demarch  emerged  to  give  us  greeting. 

Pyrgos  is  one  of  the  prettiest  villages  of  the  islands, 
being  quite  Alpine  in  character,  situated,  as  it  is,  in 
a  hollow  basin  surrounded  by  lofty  mountains.  A  river 
leaping  from  rock  to  rock  runs  down  the  central  street, 
and  is  spanned  by  pretty  wooden  bridges.  From  the 
demarches  house,  which  is  higher  than  its  neighbour,  we 
had  a  lovely  view  over  almond  trees,  now  in  blossom, 
cypresses,  mingled  with  the  yellow  and  white  houses, 
with  the  rugged  peaks  of  the  Mount  Prophet  Elias  of 
Tenos  as  a  background.  Most  of  these  houses  have 
productive  gardens.  The  demarch  took  us  to  his,  where 
he  complained  that  his  neighbours'  hens  were  wont  to 
trespass  ;  and  he  laughingly  told  me  that  here  at  Pyrgos 
the  women  had  a  charm  for  keeping  their  hens  from 
trespassing,  which  he  intended  to  make  his  neighbours 
use  :  it  is  as  follows  : — 

'  When  you  see  the  first  stars  of  an  evening,  sing  this 
song,  "  O  star,  first  star,  I  have  three  basins  -  one  of 
silver,  one  of  gold,  and  one  of  lead.  I  want  neither  the 
silver  one  nor  the  gold,  but  spare  me  the  lead,  that  I  may 
prevent  my  hens  from  eating  the  crops."  If  you  sing  this 
song  with  implicit  faith  your  hens  will  never  trespass.' 


TENOS.  267 


Curious  and  meaningless  as  these  incantations  sound, 
nevertheless  the  women  still  believe  in  them.  Later  on 
at  dinner  we  opened  the  subject  again,  and  the  demarches 
daughter,  who  stood  in  the  background  ready  to  attend 
to  our  wants,  was  constantly  referred  to  as  an  authority 
on  this  subject.  She  told  us  a  most  efficacious  one 
against  the  bite  of  the  very  poisonous  serpents  which,  in 
spite  of  what  Poseidon  may  once  have  done  towards  rid- 
ding the  island  from  them,  are  still  very  numerous,  and 
account  for  the  name  of  Ophiousa,  by  which  Tenos~was 
once  known,  and  the  name  of  *  Teniote  evils '  which 
was  commonly  applied  to  vipers. 

*  Spit  first  on  your  wound  and  say, "  Elle,  Elle  agra  !  " 
three  times,  spitting  before  each  time,  and  then  say,"/^^d5^" 
without  spitting,  repeating  these  magic  words  nine  times 
to  effect  a  perfect  cure.* 

*  What  do  those  words  mean  ? '  I  enquired  of  our  host. 

*  Nothing,'  was  his  reply  ;  *  we  generally  believe  them 
to  be  Arabic  ;  all  I  know  is  that  they  are  most  efficacious,' 
and  then  he  paused  as  if  another  idea  had  struck  him 
which  might  interest  us  and  continued :  *  Here  at  Pyrgos 
we  never  begin  any  new  work  on  a  Tuesday,  for  it  was 
on  that  day  that  Constantinople  fell  into  the  hands  of 
the  Turks.  Yet  at  Pyrgos  we  are  reckoned  more  in- 
dustrious than  elsewhere  in  Tenos  ;  we  employ  many 
hands  in  our  marble  quarries,  we  ship  catque-loads  of 
marble  from  the  port  of  Panormos,  and  no  island  has 
such  good  marble  as  ours.'  The  old  demarch  spoke 
with  great  contentment  and  pride  of  his  home,  and  we 
could  not  help  wondering  what  the  men  of  Paros  would 
say  if  they  heard  this  assertion  about  the  value  of  the 
Teniote  marble. 

They  are  very  primitive,  these  men  of  Pyrgos,  In 
spite  of  their  good  opinion  of  themselves,  even  our  host 


268  THE  CYCLADES, 

the  demarch  had  but  sorry  fare  and  a  still  sorrier  bed- 
room to  offer  us,  with  an  ill  shut  door  out  into  the  open 
air  and  a  Windless  window  into  the  common  sitting-room. 
There  were  heaps  of  eikons,  old  chests,  and  censers,  but 
not  a  luxury  in  this  den. 

Next  niorning  we  left  Pyrgos  early  and  returned  to 
Hysternia  by  the  temple  of  ^olus,  where  the  windmills 
were,  and  the  customary  doubt  occurred  as  to  whether 
the  steamer  which  was  to  take  us  to  Andros  would  come 
or  not.  After  an  hour's  delay  we  saw  her  steam  out  of  the 
harbour  of  Syra,  which  gave  us  ample  time  to  collect  our 
traps  and  scramble  down  the  hill  to  the  port,  or  rather 
little  open  roadstead,  before  she  arrived. 

We  crossed  in  safety  the  narrow  strait  between  Tenos 
and  Andros,  justly  feared  now  as  in  ancient  days  for 
its  treacherous  waves,  being  so  near  that  dreaded  and 
mythical  spot  Isiknia,  where,  mariners  tell  you,  is  the  very 
home  of  the  winds  ;  after  which  we  had  time  to  enjoy  an 
excellent  meal  provided  for  us  by  the  steward  of  the 
'  Elpis,'  and  to  turn  over  a  new  page  in  our  diary. 


269 


CHAPTER  XIL 

ANDROS. 

I.  Eastern  Andros, 

Andros  is  the  second-largest  of  the  Cyclades,  and  with 
Tenos  forms  a  part  of  that  chain  which  on  the  map  looks 
as  if  it  ought  to  form  a  part  of  Euboea.  The  mountains 
are  more  lofty  than  those  of  Tenos,  its  valleys  deeper  and 
more  fertile.  It  boasts  of  streams  which  do  not  dry  up 
in  summer  time,  and  its  ancient  attribute  of  Hydroussa, 
or  the  watery  isle,  is  well  maintained  to  this  day.  As 
we  coasted  along  the  eastern  side  it  did  not  look  pre- 
possessing, and  we  shivered  when  we  saw  the  black  moun- 
tains, still  covered  with  patches  of  snow,  though  March 
was  well  on,  which  we  should  have  to  cross  in  going 
from  place  to  place. 

But  on  landing  the  gloom  entirely  disappeared,  for 
the  town  is  highly  picturesque :  old  houses  of  all  colours 
are  built  on  a  narrow  rock  which  juts  out  into  the  sea, 
and  on  an  island  rock  connected  with  this  tongue  of 
land  by  a  fantastic  bridge  stands  the  mediaeval  castle,  all 
now  in  ruins.  Behind  this  town  stretches  inland  one  of 
the  most  fertile  valleys  in  the  world,  and  the  slopes  of 
the  mountains  are  dotted  with  villages  peeping  out  of 
cypress  and  lemon  groves.  Andros,  in  fact,  is  the  best 
wooded  of  the  Cyclades,  and  second  only  to  Naxos  in 
size  and  beauty. 


270  THE  CYCLADES. 


Our  letter  was  to  the  eparch  of  Andros,  a  gentle- 
manly old  man,  of  a  Pariote  family  ;  but  lodging  with  an 
eparch  is  not  repaying  on  the  whole  ;  he  is  generally  a 
stranger  and  knows  nothing  whatsoever  about  the  island 
over  which  he  rules.  He  inhabits  a  large  house  provided 
for  him  by  Government  and  furnished  with  as  few  com- 
forts as  possible,  for  he  is  a  bird  of  passage.  Eparch 
Matzi  was  no  exception  to  this  rule,  for  his  comparisons 
between  Andros  and  his  native  Paros  were  not  to  the 
advantage  of  the  former.  To  his  wife  Kyria  Matzi  we 
shall  be  for  ever  grateful,  for  immediately  on  our  arrival 
she  introduced  us  to  the  great  Andriote  luxury  limonakki^ 
tiny  green  lemons  made  into  a  jam,  so  deliciously  soft, 
and  so  deliciously  sweet,  that  we  longed  for  a  potful  and 
some  bread  and  butter.  If  you  get  a  treat  in  the  way 
of  jam  in  Greece  it  is  truly  aggravating  only  to  be  able 
to  take  one  teaspoonful,  and  to  have  to  wash  that  down 
with  raki  and  water. 

Lemons  are  so  plentiful  in  Andros  that  they  can  afford 
to  make  jam  out  of  the  little  ones.  The  whole  of  the 
southern  slope  of  Mount  Petalos,  which  runs  across 
Andros  and  divides  it  into  north  and  south,  is  one  vast 
lemon  garden.  Boxes  of  lemons  wrapped  in  paper  are 
despatched  to  Constantinople,  Russia,  and  England,  and 
wherever  we  went  we  were  presented  with  lemons  in 
painful  and  burdensome  profusion.  Of  late  years  a 
withering  disease  has  attacked  this  staple  trade,  and  the 
wealthy  lemon-growers  of  Andros  are  feeling  greatly 
concerned  thereat. 

Until  a  few  years  ago  Andros  produced  a  large 
quantity  of  silk,  and  still  a  great  number  of  mulberry 
trees  are  scattered  over  the  plains  and  hills ;  and  one  is 
surprised  to  find  many  houses  of  the  poorer  classes  in 
the  town  so  large  and  commodious :  it  is  because  once 
upon  a  time  they  were  constructed  with  a  view  to  t!ic 


ANDROS.  271 


manufacture  of  silk.  Fifteen  years  ago  disease  attacked 
the  worms,  and  numbers  of  fine  mulberry  trees  were  cut 
down  and  lemons  planted  in  their  stead ;  with  the  fruit 
of  those  that  are  left  they  make  a  disgusting  potent 
spirit  called  fiouppopaKL,  much  drunk  at  feast  time,  and 
the  cause  of  many  a  bloody  brawl  in  Andros.  In  thoise 
days  the  Andriotes  were  very  superstitious  about  their 
silkworms,  and  a  woman  who  wished  to  secure  a  good 
crop  of  silk  believed  it  a  sure  plan  to  appear  stark  naked 
on  her  flat  roof  at  the  early  dawn  of  May  morning. 
This  curious  custom  is  luckily  not  considered  necessary 
for  the  success  of  the  lemons,  and  hence  it  is  abandoned, 
but  it  reminds  one,  oddly  enough,  of  that  lively  picture 
drawn  by  Terence,  in  his  *  Adriana,'  of  the  women  of 
Andros,  which  does  not  credit  them  with  an  abundant 
stock  of  morality. 

With  her  mulberry  trees  useless,  and  her  lemon  trees 
blighted,  Andros  is  not  very  flourishing  just  now,  and 
that  bane  of  insular  Greece,  namely,  emigration,  is  going 
on  in  full  swing  ;  and,  what  is  almost  worse,  many  go  to 
America  for  a  few  years  to  amass  a  little  money,  leaving 
their  lands  untilled  and  uncared  for  until  their  return. 
Andros  properly  managed  might  be  a  perfect  paradise  ; 
corn  is  good  and  abundant ;  it  received  a  medal  of  the 
first  order  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1867  ;  almost  any- 
thing they  choose  to  grow  here  would  prosper  with  proper 
management. 

We  took  a  stroll  round  the  town  soon  after  our 
arrival,  and  were  pleased  with  all  we  saw.  The  old  town 
on  the  tongue  of  rock  is  entered  by  a  gateway,  and  the 
houses  are  pretty,  having  more  woodwork  about  them 
than  is  common  in  these  islands ;  red-tiled  roofs  are 
rather  a  relief  after  perpetual  flat  ones.  Over  many  house 
doors  may  be  seen  a  ship  carved  in  marble,  betokening 
the  occupation  of  the  inmate,  just  as  over  the  church 


272  THE  CYC  LADES. 


doors  a  marble  figure  of  the  patron  saint  is  inserted.  A 
narrow  street  leads  down  to  the  bridge,  one  lofty  span  now 
crumbling  into  ruins,  which  leads  you  to  the  island  where 
the  Venetian  lords  of  Andros  lived.  It  is  built  of  a  green- 
ish stone,  much  eaten  away  by  the  action  of  the  waves, 
which  in  a  storm  lash  themselves  to  fury  around  it 

Andros  became  Venetian  property  as  far  back  as 
1204,  when  Marco  Dandolo  took  it,  and  then  the  well- 
known  Zeno  family  had  it  for  generations  as  a  fief,  the 
heiress  of  whom  brought  it  as  a  dower  to  the  Sommaripas. 
The  Andriotes  themselves  turned  out  their  last  ruler  of 
this  family,  and  gave  themselves  voluntarily  to  the  Turks. 
Some  of  the  Sommaripas  still  live  at  Naxos. 

Later  on  I  walked  out  into  the  plain,  and  was  struck 
with  the  fertility  of  the  fields  ;  those  which  are  exposed 
to  the  north  wind  have  cypresses  planted  around  them  to 
break  the  force  of  the  *  king  of  the  winds,'  and  they  make 
tall  hedges  of  bamboos,  which  sway  before  the  tempests 
and  protect  the  crops.  Certainly  Tournefort  was  right 
when  he  said  that  the  traveller  who  leaves  the  town  of 
Andros  will  enter  upon  one  of  the  most  beautiful  plains 
in  the  world.  Each  garden  has  its  large  water-tank, 
which  is  worked  by  wheels  for  irrigation,  and  from  the 
hillside  to  the  south,  up  which  we  climbed,  a  coup  doeil 
of  greater  fertility  would  be  hard  to  find  ;  but  the  hills 
themselves  are  barren  and  bleak,  especially  where  the 
force  of  the  north  wind  is  felt,  and  miles  of  stone  walls, 
curiously  made,  with  great,^big  slabs  at  an  interval  of 
every  two  yards,  built  around  with  smaller  stones,  do  not 
look  picturesque. 

Lent  in  all  its  earnest  asperity  was  now  in  full  swing  ; 
we  knew  that  in  the  interior  no  flesh  could  be  obtained, 
so  we  purchased  another  fat  lamb  to  take  with  us.  Lent 
is  indeed  a  fearful  season  of  abstinence.  Like  the  nuns  of 


ANDROS.  273 


Tenos,  we  found  many  women  performing  the  rpi^spov, 
or  three  days'  fast,  on  nothing  but  water,  and  for  the  first 
week  the  truly  pious  would  not  think  of  touching  any- 
thing but  vegetables  and  bread.  If  an  animal  falls  ill 
during  this  long  fast  they  kill  it,  and  pickle  it  for  the 
Easter  feast ;  every  egg  that  a  hen  lays  during  this 
period  is  hard-boiled,  and  put  by  till  the  fast  is  over  ; 
so,  to  guard  against  starvation,  we  took  with  us  our  lamb 
and  a  little  caviare,  which  came  in  most  opportunely.  At 
all  times  and  seasons  the  Andriotes  are  most  abstemious, 
and  seldom  indulge  in  other  flesh  than  that  of  pig,  except 
at  weddings  and  feasts.  After  the  feast  of  St.  Demetrius 
(October  26)  the  season  of  the  pig  slaughter  (x^cpo- 
<r<f>dyui)  begins  ;  each  householder  kills  one  or  two,  part 
of  which  they  salt,  and  part  they  cut  up  into  little  bits, 
and  cover  with  pigs'  fat  in  earthenware  jars  :  this  they 
keep  for  a  whole  year,  and  eat  as  occasion  requires. 
They  make  sausages  of  it,  and  put  it  into  omelets,  and 
cook  it  with  poached  eggs  ;  it  is  invariably  green,  and 
tastes  rancid,  but  it  is  deemed  a  great  luxury,  one  which 
at  times  we  hardly  dared  to  refuse. 

A  good  road  is  in  course  of  construction  up  the 
fertile  valley  along  which  we  made  our  way  at  a  rapid 
pace  until  we  came  to  the  village  of  Messarii,  which  has 
a  church,  of  considerable  architectural  merit,  dedicated 
to  the  archangel  Michael,  on  a  pillar  of  which  we  read  that 
it  was  built  in  the  reign  of  Manuel  Komnenes  in  1157. 
It  is  of  pure  Byzantine  style,  with  a  dome,  and  divided, 
as  old  churches  of  that  date  were,  into  narthex,  middle 
temple,  and  holy  place.  The  screen  is  of  white  and  grey 
marble,  and  has  on  it  several  carvings,  representing  St. 
John's  head  in  a  charger  and  Consta^ntine's  two-headed 
eagle.  It  is  a  venerable  structure,  and  points  to  Messari^ 
as  having  been  the  second  capital  of  Andros  after  the 

T 


274  THE  CYCLADES. 


abandonment  of  the  early  Greek  city,  and  before  the 
modern  town  was  commenced.  It  was  favourably  placed 
for  defence  high  up  in  this  fertile  valley,  and  not  until 
much  later  days,  when  the  Venetian  lords  erected  a 
fortress,  could  it  have  been  possible  to  dwell  by  the  sea 
where  the  capital  now  is. 

Turning  to  the  right  we  soon  entered  the  paradise 
of  Menites,  with  delicious  streams  rushing  down  the 
gorge  from  the  mountain  side,  and  bathing  it  in  verdure  ; 
luxuriant  maidenhair  fringed  the  water  mills,  and  on 
banks  of  soft  moss  we  actually  found  primroses  growing 
in  abundance,  and  we  were  glad  enough  of  the  shelter 
afforded  by  the  houses  hidden  away  amongst  the  trees 
to  take  refuge  from  the  midday  sun. 

At  Menites  we  were  first  introduced  to  the  towers  of 
Andros,  a  peculiarity  of  the  island,  which  arose  from  a 
constitution  which  it  appears  alone  to  have  possessed. 
Until  quite  recent  years  the  Andriotes  were  divided  into 
.  two  classes,  the  archons  and  the  tillers  of  the  soil :  the 
former  generally  traced  their  descent  from  Venetian  fami- 
lies, and  each  of  them  built  a  square  tower  in  the  midst 
of  his  land,  and  was  a  person  of  authority.  There  was  a 
curious  custom  amongst  these  archons,  that  the  first  son 
who  married  always  inherited  the  tower  and  the  estate, 
whilst  the  others  entered  monasteries,  became  school- 
masters, or  sought  employment  in  foreign  parts :  hence 
Andros  is  especially  rich  in  monastic  establishments, 
several  of  which  are  still  in  existence. 

These  square  lofty  towers  form  a  curious  feature  in 
the  landscape.  Originally  they  were  entered  at  an  upper 
storey  by  a  ladder,  which  drew  up  and  secured  those 
inside  from  invasion.  To  the  lower  storey  there  were 
no  doors  or  windows,  but  it  was  entered  by  a  trap- 
door from  above  and  served  as  the  family  storeroom. 


ANDROS.  275 


Round  the  top  of  the  towers  were  overhanging  niches, 
out  of  which  the  beseiged  could  pour  boiling  oil  and 
shoot  their  assailants ;  but,  thanks  to  the  quiescence  of 
modern  times,  the  gloomy  aspect  of  these  towers  is  much 
ameliorated.  Stone  staircases  have  been  fitted  on  out- 
side, to  serve  as  approaches  instead  of  ladders ;  windows 
have  been  opened,  and  in  most  of  them  an  air  of  comfort 
now  reigns. 

But  the  family  pride  of  the  archons  is  by  no  means 
extinct,  though  under  a  different  regime  their  power  is 
greatly  modified.  They  are  exceedingly  strict  about 
marriages,  and  if  the  son  of  an  archon  demeans  himself 
by  wishing  to  marry  beneath  him  the  paternal  wrath  is 
at  once  aroused  :  the  young  man's  father  will  say  that 
the  girl  has  used  magic  to  attract  her  lover,  love  philters 
and  potions,  such  as  they  have  plenty  of  in  Andros,  but 
which  are  discountenanced  by  the,  Church  as  emanating 
from  the  devil.  In  the  face  of  accusations  such  as  these 
the  young  man  can  hardly  continue  his  suit  for  shame. 
Many  of  these  little  artifices  are  attributed  to  the  girls 
of  Andros,  such  as  sewing  something  on  the  sly  into  the 
coat  of  the  object  of  their  desire,  or  stealing  his  hand- 
kerchief and  shuffling  it  in  some  mysterious  way  as  they 
mutter  incantations.  These  are  harmless  enough,  but 
they  know  more  intricate  ones  than  these,  which  are 
brought  into  requisition  if  the  simpler  ones  fail,  and 
which  are  not  very  pleasing  to  recount. 

Silly  Andriote  women  think,  too,  that  by  treading 
on  their  husbands*  foot  during  a  certain  portion  of  the 
marriage  service  they  will  command  in  the  household. 
We  were  shown  one  day,  as  an  instance  of  this,  a  young 
woman  who  had  lately  married  and  tried  this  method 
on  ;  and  so  enraged  was  her  newly  acquired  husband  that 
as  soon  as  they  returned  from  church  he  gave  her  a  good 

T    2 


276  THE  CVCLADES. 


beating,  and  now  she  looks  as  humble-minded  a  help- 
mate as  any  man  could  wish  to  have. 

Menites  has  a  church  through  which  a  sacred  stream 
of  water  flows.  *  This/  said  Kyrios  Kretes,  who  was 
acting  as  host,  *  was  the  celebrated  temple  of  Dionysos, 
where  once  a  year  the  water  flowed  as  wine  in  ancient 
times.'  I  privately  begged  leave  to  differ  from  him, 
first,  because  there  is  not  a  vestige  of  antiquity  in  this 
part  of  the  island  ;  and  secondly,  because  a  sceptical 
nature  suggested  that  a  miracle  such  as  this  must  have 
been  difficult  to  perform  on  a  stream  which  runs  straight 
down  from  the  mountain  side  ;  if  it  had  passed  through 
a  tank  behind  I  could  have  understood  it.  No  ;  we 
must  look  elsewhere  for  our  temple  of  Dionysos.  Every 
house  at  Menites  was  gay  with  flowers — geraniums,  double 
stocks,  and  other  sweet-smelling  flowers — for  without 
they  are  sweet-smelling  or  useful  for  something  a  Greek 
despises  flowers.  Inside,  too,  the  houses  were  clean,  and 
for  the  most  part  stocked  with  boxes  for  the  lemon 
trade. 

The  household  jams  of  Andros  are  really  exquisite  ; 
jams  of  lemon  flower  and  roses,  jams  of  citrons  and 
quinces ;  and  the  honey  cakes  of  Andros  are  things  to 
dream  of ;  they  are  made  of  honey  mixed  with  walnuts 
and  served  up  on  lemon-leaves.  Such  delicacies  as  these 
are  commonly  reserved  for  feast  days,  but  we  were  guests 
in  a  foreigfn  land,  and  the  accommodating  housewife  was 
proud  to  show  us  her  handiwork,  even  though  it  were 
the  first  week  in  Lent. 

We  left  Menites,  with  regret,  late  in  the  afternoon, 
and  made  our  way  towards  the  great  monastery  of 
PanAchrantos,  the  richest  in  Andros,  where  we  proposed 
to  pass  the  night.  This  monastery  is  built  on  a  fearful 
spot  under  the  rocks  of  the  mountain  ridge,  to  the  south 


ANDROS,  277 


of  the  vale  of  Andros,  so  that  it  faces  due  north,  and  in 
the  winter  months  gets  no  sun,  and  is  exposed  to  every 
chilling  blast.  As  seen  from  below,  it  is  like  a  village 
with  a  wall  all  round  it,  of  dull  brown  stone,  and  with 
a  whitewashed  church  rising  up  in  the  midst  There  were 
quantities  of  leafless  mulberry  trees  around  it,  and  a 
gushing  stream  which  was  swollen  by  the  melting  snow 
from  above.  Inside,  it  was  just  like  the  nunnery  of 
Tenos — intricate  lanes  and  alleys  full  of  pigs  and  fowls, 
leading  into  a  sort  of  agora  before  the  church,  where  in 
summer  time  the  monks  meet  to  chat ;  but  now  nothing 
could  equal  the  chilliness  of  the  spot.  Evening  had 
come  on  before  we  arrived  ;  huge  mist  clouds  rolled  down 
upon  us  from  the  mountains,  and  everything  we  touched 
about  the  place  felt  clammy  and  damp.  We  were  con- 
ducted down  endless  lanes  and  passages  to  the  room  of  the 
superior  Gregory  (rj^ov^svoi),  a  tall,  gaunt  man  of  very 
ascetic  appearance,  which  inspired  awe.  Our  comfort 
was  not  enhanced  by  the  presence  of  a  madman,  who 
frequently  told  us  that  he  was  king  of  Andros,  and  that 
this  was  his  favourite  palace.  Superior  Gregory  apologised 
for  him  by  saying  that  there  were  no  asylums  in  Andros, 
and  that  when  a  man  is  too  dangerous  to  be  at  large  he 
is  taken  by  a  monastery  out  of  charity.  Then  again  the 
lay  brother,  who  acted  as  servant  to  the  superior,  had 
no  chin — a  most  repulsive  object  to  look  upon.  His 
duties  are  to  wait  on  the  superior,  ring  the  bells,  light 
the  candles  in  the  church,  and  say  *  Kyrie  eleison  *  as  fast 
as  he  can  at  the  proper  time ;  and  to  fulfil  these  offices 
the  good  monks  always  chose  a  man  whose  deformities 
would  unfit  him  for  shining  in  any  other  rank  in  life. 

Though  I  have  visited  many  monasteries  in  Greece 
this  was  the  first  time  I  had  passed  a  night  in  one,  and 
I  must  say  my  curiosity  was  blended  with  awe  at  the 


278  THE  CYCLADES, 


appearance  of  those  around  me.  Superior  Gregory 
looked  very  cross  at  us  from  time  to  time,  and  presently 
I  heard  that  our  servant  had  suggested  that,  as  we  were 
tired  and  hungry,  we  should  like  to  cook  a  portion  of 
our  lamb  for  our  evening  meal.  *  Unheard-of  thing  !  *  I 
heard  him  say.  *  Why,  to  cook  flesh  in  our  monastery 
during  the  first  week  in  Lent  is  against  the  canons  of 
the  Church ;'  and  feeling  that  we  had  imposed  our  society 
on  them  we  felt  it  only  right  to  offer  no  remonstrances, 
though  when  dinner  time  came  our  hearts  sank  within 
us.  Our  bill  of  fare  was  as  follows — First  course,  a  soup 
of  rice  boiled  in  water,  and  tasting  chiefly  of  the  latter 
ingredient.  Second  course,  a  soup  of  lentils  and  onions, 
more  substantial  than  the  last,  but  horribly  unsatisfying 
to  hungry  travellers.  Superior  Gregory  then  graciously 
permitted  us  to  eat  some  of  our  own  caviare,  and  even 
went  the  length  of  producing  red  caviare,  such  as  the 
Greeks  rejoice  in,  and  kalvas,  a  Turkish  sweetmeat 
made  of  sugar,  flour,  and  sesame  oil.  Such  was  our 
meal,  which  we  washed  down  with  generous  wine,  and 
as  the  meal  went  on  the  stern  Gregory  thawed  a  little. 

Our  next  fear  was  about  sleeping  arrangements,  and 
here  again  our  worst  apprehensions  were  realised  :  we 
were  to  occupy  a  damp  cell,  no  sheets  on  the  bed,  only 
coarse  home-spun  rugs,  and  these  dripping  with  wet. 

*  Matins  will  be  at  four  o'clock  to-morrow  morning,* 
said  Gregory  as  he  somewhat  sarcastically  wished  us  a 
good  night. 

*  Must  we  be  there  ?  *  asked  I  humbly ;  our  tyrant 
considered  a  little,  and  then  told  us  that  we  might  remain 
in  bed  if  we  wished,  being  heterodox  and  travellers. 

It  was  the  first  Friday  in  the  great  fast,  so  matins 
in  the  morning  would  last  four  hours.  *  Should  I  go  .?  * 
thought  I ;  and  when,  at  four  o'clock,  I  was  sleepless 


ANDROS.  279 


and   heard  the  semandron   sound,  I  decided  that  bed 
offered  no  charms  and  went 

The  Greek  semandra  are  curious  inventions  for 
making  a  noise.  Each  monastery  has  generally  two, 
one  of  wood  and  one  of  metal ;  the  former  is  a  planed 
piece  of  timber,  made  often  of  maple  wood,  about  three 
feet  long  and  nine  inches  wide.  This  is  hung  up  outside 
the  church,  and  the  ringer  produces  his  noise  by  striking 
it  with  a  wooden  mallet.  As  a  rule,  the  wooden  one  only 
is  sounded  at  dawn,  but  to-day,  being  a  great  Lenten 
service,  the  iron  one  was  sounded  :  it  is  a  semicircular 
hoop,  which  produces  a  noise  not  unlike  a  cracked  gong. 
I  have  heard  that  these  semandra  date  from  the  days 
when  the  Turks  refused  to  allow  the  Christians  to  use 
bells.  In  the  dead  of  night  it  was  a  curious  noise,  and 
as  I  issued  forth  into  the  chilly  morning  air  and  saw  the 
monks,  lanterns  in  hand,  hurrying  to  church,  I  seemed  to 
be  wafted  back  into  centuries  long  gone  by  ;  the  wind 
was  howling  and  driving  large  snowflakes  against  our 
faces,  and  on  this  occasion  I  learnt  the  word  l/370)  for 
/6t7G), '  I  shiver,'  a  specimen  of  Andriote  patois  which  I 
shall  never  forget. 

*  Amen,  Amen,  Adam  !  *  were  the  words  I  caught  as 
I  entered  the  church  and  took  up  my  quarters  in  a  stall 
((TTaa-lSiov)  which  had  no  seat,  only  room  for  the  elbows, 
and  which  are  represented  in  some  parts  of  Greece  by 
crutches,  on  which  the  infirm  support  themselves  during 
the  lengthy  services,  for  sitting  is  not  allowed. 

The  church  of  the  monastery  of  Pandchrantos  is  a 
beautiful  one,  and  looked  especially  well  with  plenty  of 
candles  and  oil  lamps.  The  tempelon,  or  screen,  had  a 
sort  of  dado  of  rich  Rhodian  tiles  let  into  the  woodwork, 
and  above  were  six  large  silver  eikons  of  St.  Michael, 
St.  John  the  Baptist,  &c.,  with  all  the  mysteries  of  their 


28o  THE  CYCLADES, 


lives  embossed  in  silver,  which  were  set  in  richly  carved 
wood,  and  along  the  top  ran  twelve  little  arched  com- 
partments for  pictures  of  the  twelve  apostles.  I  had 
plenty  of  time  for  observing  all  these  things  as  the  service 
went  on,  and  not  until  it  was  nearly  half  over  was  I  con- 
scious of  great  fatigue  and  numbness  of  limb.  *  How 
can  these  monks,'  I  thought,  *for  ever  be  chanting 
their  offices  and  their  hours  }  *  a  tedious  liturgy  followed 
by  a  still  more  tedious  life  of  some  saint  or  hermit, 
and  endless  monotone  hymns,  which  jarred  horribly 
on  my  ears.  Then,  again,  everything  is  said  and 
sung  in  an  almost  inaudible  tone  by  the  priests  ;  you 
strain  your  ears,  but  fail  to  catch  many  consecutive 
words  ;  for  they  wish  to  keep  up  the  idea  of  mediation 
between  God  and  man. 

The  most  terrible  things  end  at  last,  and  at  eight 
o'clock  my  matins  at  Panichrantos  were  over.  I  had 
gone  to  them  voluntarily,  so  could  not  ask  for  pity.  I 
felt  very  sorry  for  myself  nevertheless,  and  the  chilling 
effects  of  Pandchrantos  a  few  days  later  made  them- 
selves unpleasantly  felt.  I  even  felt  relieved  when  I  found 
that  by  no  manner  of  means  could  we  wash  ourselves 
that  morning  ;  there  is  a  time  when  cold  water  may  be 
repugnant  even  to  an  Englishman. 

By  attending  the  service  I  think  I  went  up  greatly  in 
the  estimation  of  Gregory,  for  he  was  now  quite  eager  to 
show  us  over  his  treasury  and  to  provide  us  with  what 
food  he  could  before  starting. 

'  Ah  !  *  said  he,  *  you  should  come  here  at  Easter  or 
on  our  feast  day,  August  15,  when  we  walk  in  procession 
round  the  walls  of  our  monastery,  with  banners  and  the 
silver  eikons.  It  is  lovely  here  in  summer — no  heat  and 
perpetual  balmy  breezes.  A  monk's  life  is  always  peace- 
ful and  happy.' 


^ANDROS,  281 


Pandchrantos  is  a  fairly  old  monastic  establishment, 
though  the  date  of  its  foundation  is  uncertain  ;  we,  at 
all  events,  know  that  it  was  old  enough  to  be  repaired 
in  1608.  It  owes  allegiance  directly  to  the  Patriarch  of 
Constantinople,  and  not  to  the  Bishop  of  Andros  and 
Keos,  and  hence  it  is  called  a  aravpoTrTjyiov,  and  for  this 
honour  it  pays  annually  to  the  Patriarch  an  oke  of  wax. 

The  silver  in  their  treasury  is  very  fine  :  a  silver  arm 
and  hand  beautifully  embossed  has  been  made  to  accom- 
modate a  morsel  of  the  bone  of  St.  Marina's  arm  and 
finger.  Quantities  of  jewelled  crosses  and  filagree  objects 
for  relics ;  a  silver  mitre,  to  contain  a  portion  of  the  skull  of 
a  saint ;  lamps,  &c. :  and  all  these  things  huddled  together 
in  terrible  disorder  in  a  room,  the  window  of  which  had 
lately  been  blown  in  by  the  north  wind,  and  which,  being 
on  the  outer  wall,  would  form  an  excellent  opening  for 
an  athletic  thief  The  glory  of  Pandchrantos  is  fast  de- 
parting  :  the  library  has  been  sold,  or  destroyed  by  the 
damp ;  most  of  the  two  hundred  cells  are  empty  and 
falling  into  ruins,  for  now  there  are  only  thirty  monks 
left.  Conscription  and  education  are  rapidly  striking  a 
deathblow  to  the  monastic  institutions  in  the  kingdom 
of  modern  Hellas. 

Just  above  the  monastery  there  is  a  curious  pointed 
rock,  to  the  summit  of  which  nobody  knows  how  to 
climb.  On  the  top  are  evident  traces  of  a  wall ;  probably, 
as  Superior  Gregory  suggested,  this  was  the  former  home 
of  some  hermit,  which  has  been  rendered  inaccessible  by 
the  falling  away  of  a  portion  of  the  cliff. 

In  a  storm  of  sleet,  and  with  a  biting  north  wind 
behind  us,  we  set  out  from  our  somewhat  dreary  halting- 
place  on  our  way  across  the  mountains  which  lie  at  the 
back  of  Pandchrantos,  and  divide  the  vale  of  Andros 
from  the  parallel  vale  of  Korthl.     To  our  left  we  passed 


282  THE  CYCLADES. 


one  of  those  ruined  Venetian  fortresses  on  the  summit 
of  a  rock,  covered,  as  usual,  with  the  ruins  of  towers, 
houses,  and  cisterns  of  the  Latin  epoch ;  and  there  is 
the  usual  saga  concerning  it  about  a  bloody  slaughter 
which  once  took  place  here  between  Venetians  and 
Turks. 

It  was  delightful  to  get  down  into  the  valley  again, 
into  a  more  temperate  climate  ;  and  the  vale  of  Korthi^ 
though  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  Andros,  was  genial 
and  pretty.  Not  long  ago  a  storm  of  sand  invaded  the 
valley  ;  mulberry  trees  and  cypresses  stand  quaintly  out 
of  sandhills  which  resemble  the  dunes  of  Holland  ;  and 
the  only  effectual  check  to  this  invasion  of  sand  seems 
to  have  been  a  bulwark  of  cypresses,  behind  which  the 
gardens  and  towers  of  the  Korthiotes  have  been  pro- 
tected from  the  destruction  which  has  fallen  on  the  fields 
outside. 

Before  entering  the  village  of  Korthl  you  pass  a 
whole  row  of  towers :  this  spot  is  called  Kampana  be- 
cause the  rich  family  of  that  name  once  owned  most, 
if  not  all,  of  these  towers.  They  are  gaunt,  imposing- 
looking  edifices,  buried  in  trees  and  surrounded  by  well- 
stocked  gardens,  for  the  Kampana  seem  to  have  been  one 
of  the  wealthiest  of  the  archon  families  of  Andros,  and 
they  have  still  extensive  property  in  the  island,  called, 
curiously  enough,  a  feud  ((fysovBa) ;  a  singular  trans- 
plantation of  a  truly  Western  word  on  to  Hellenic  soil  ; 
and  the  chief  families  of  Andros — Kampana,  Kalres, 
and  Delia  Grammatica — though  Greek  to  the  backbone 
now,  have  a  distinctly  Latin  origin.  Another  Latin  in- 
fluence in  Andros  is  likewise  curious  :  a  baby,  before  it 
is  christened,  as  we  have  seen  in  other  islands,  is  called 
*  Dragon  '  or  *  Iron  *  ;  here  in  Andros  it  is  called  *  Paga- 
nos/  or  *  Pagan.* 


ANDROS.  283 


Our  destination  to-day  had  a  pleasant-sounding 
name,  ^ArjBoi/ta  (Nightingale),  where  dwells  the  chief 
magistrate  of  the  deme  of  Korthl.  *  Nightingale '  is  a 
little  village  above  the  town  of  Korthl,  where  the  wealthier 
inhabitants  now  dwell  in  their  large  towers.  Our  host 
was  quite  an  aristocrat,  belonging  to  the  archon  family 
of  KaYres,  who  had  married  a  Kampana.  He  lived 
in  a  very  large  tower,  approached  by  an  imposing  flight 
of  steps,  from  which  we  entered  directly  into  a  fine 
room,  where  the  family  receive.  Behind  is  the  dining 
room  and  the  kitchen  ;  above  are  bedrooms  ;  and  above 
that  the  dovecote  ;  on  the  ground  floor  were  the  offices 
and  stables :  such  is  an  Andriote  tower.  Korthl  and 
Aedonia  must  at  one  time  have  been  entirely  composed 
of  them,  rivalling  the  surrounding  cypresses  in  their 
growth. 

I  was  glad  to  come  across  one  of  this  KaYres  family, 
though  perhaps  to  anyone  not  conversant  with  the  in- 
cidents of  the  war  of  independence  the  name  may  not 
convey  much.  Theophilos  KaYres,  of  Andros,  was  one 
of  the  most  brilliant  lights  of  that  period.  He  left  his 
native  island  when  quite  young,  and  learnt  in  Europe 
more  than  the  ordinary  routine  of  a  merchant's  life. 
Impressed  with  the  oppression  of  his  country,  he  hurried 
back  thither,  seeking  an  opportunity  of  preaching  eman- 
cipation and  freedom.  He  had,  of  course,  wonderful 
hair-breadth  escapes,  like  all  the  heroes  of  those  days, 
and  when  all  was  over,  and  freedom  declared,  he  quietly 
set  himself  to  carry  out  his  great  hobby — that  of  estab- 
lishing an  orphanage  in  Andros.  Capo  d'Istria  wished 
him  to  take  the  head  of  an  orphanage  in  iEgina,  but  he 
refused,  so  determined  was  he  to  erect  his  building  in 
his  native  island.  With  this  object  in  view,  he  travelled 
the  length  and  breadth  of  Europe,  collecting  money  for 


284  THE  CYCLADES. 

his  purpose.  He  was  most  intimate  with  and  got  most 
support  from  the  Quakers  and  other  European  Non- 
conformists ;  in  fact,  Kafres  was  anything  but  orthodox 
in  his  views,  the  result  being  that  when,  in  1835,  his 
orphanage  was  established,  and  thirty  orphans  from 
various  parts  of  Greece  were  being  educated  under  his 
wing,  the  orthodox  Church  began  to  grumble.  Though 
he  had  the  support  of  the  Government,  and  King  Otho 
offered  to  decorate  him  with  the  Order  of  the  Saviour, 
he  refused  everything,  and  left  his  school  in  the  hands 
of  a  deputy,  whilst  he  wandered  about  abroad  until  the 
animosity  against  him  cooled  down ;  then  he  returned 
and  continued  to  manage  the  school  till  his  death  in 
1853.  When  in  the  capital  we  visited  the  building  he 
had  erected,  which  was  closed  for  twenty  years  after  his 
death,  but  now  is  opened  as  the  Government  school. 
The  love  of  Theophilos  Kafres  is  not  yet  dead  in 
Andros  ;  he  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest  light  that  has 
ever  shone  amongst  them. 

Demarch  Kai'res  and  his  wife  were  naturally  proud 
of  their  illustrious  kinsman,  and  told  us  much  about  him. 
Nowhere  in  Greece  have  I  ever  seen  family  pride  so 
marked  as  it  is  here ;  the  half-century  of  democratic 
Greek  rule  has  not  sufficed  to  root  it  out.  In  Athens  it 
is  the  fashion  to  laugh  at  this  sort  of  thing ;  those  who 
come  from  the  Ionian  Islands,  and  call  themselves  counts, 
and  those  whose  fathers  have  been  hospodars  under 
Turkish  rule,  and  still  call  themselves  princes,  are 
ridiculed  by  the  democratic  element ;  and  the  archons  of 
Andros  come  in  the  same  category. 

After  our  monastic  experience  we  felt  ourselves  once 
more  in  the  lap  of  luxury  ;  we  were  allowed  to  cook  our 
lamb  without  any  demur  ;  and  the  demarch,  after  a  little 
persuasion,  partook  of  some  himself,  for  it  is  the  same 


ANDROS.  28  s 


in  Greece  as  it  is  all  the  world  over — the  women  are 
supposed  to  do  the  greater  part  of  the  fasting  and 
church-going.  Here  we  got  for  a  change  some  decent 
bread — not  that  brown  rye-bread  which  feels  as  if  it 
were  half  made  of  sand — and  some  good  biscuits,  too, 
made  of  barley-bread  mixed  with  anise-seed,  crisp  and 
hard,  which  you  are  supposed  to  dip  into  your  coffee  or 
wine. 

*  Nightingale  '  is  worthy  of  its  name,  full  of  rushing 
streams  and  shady  walks,  where  the  nightingale  is  really 
to  be  heard.  It  is  far  superior  to  Korthl,  down  in  the 
hollow  by  the  sandhills  ;  and  in  summer  it  must  be  a 
delightfully  cool  retreat  Korthl,  however,  can  boast  of 
some  interesting  churches,  onq  of  Byzantine  architecture, 
of  very  early  date,  and  another  now  in  ruins,  but  in  its 
ruins  most  picturesque — so  buried  in  olives  and  fig  trees 
that  it  is  hard  to  effect  an  entry — and  the  roof  is  covered 
with  wallflowers  and  has  a  cypress  growing  on  the  top 
of  it,  by  some  odd  contrivance  of  nature. 

The  vale  of  Korthl  is  quite  shut  off  from  everywhere 
being  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  lofty  mountains. 
To  the  south  the  land  continues  rocky  and  barren  to 
the  southern  cape,  close  to  which  is  a  now  deserted 
monastery,  where  in  former  years  was  the  great  *  pane- 
gyris  *  of  the  Cyclades,  before  the  Evangelistria  at 
Tenos  was  invented.  Everywhere  the  same  complaint  is 
made,  *  Before  the  world  went  to  Tenos  they  came  here  ; 
nearly  every  island  complains  of  the  disrepute  into 
which  its  miracle-working  shrine  has  fallen  within  late 
years. 

It  is  strange  that  all  along  this  eastern  side  of  Andros 
where  everything  now  is  so  fertile,  there  seems  not  to 
have  been  any  ancient  settlement.  I  fancy  the  ancient 
Greeks  had  a  righteous  horror  of  the  north  winds  ;  it  is 


286  THE  CYCLADES, 


the  same  in  nearly  every  island.  The  old  town  stood  on 
the  western  or  southern  slopes,  nestling  under  some  cliff, 
regardless  of  the  absence  of  a  harbour  or  of  land  to  till 
in  its  immediate  neighbourhood. 

Next  day  we  went  westwards  up  the  vale  of  Korthl, 
warmed  by  a  sun  worthy  of  an  English  July,  which  made 
us  thankful  for  the  occasional  shade  of  the  oleanders 
and  olives  ;  but  on  the  mountain  summit  again  we  were 
shrivelled  by  our  everlasting  enemy,  King  Boreas.  Even 
in  the  summer  heats  the  cold  on  these  mountain-tops  is 
intense,  they  say,  whenever  the  hurricane  comes  from 
the  north,  and  when  the  waves,  as  Hesychius  puts  it, 
resemble  so  many  goats  skipping  and  bounding  in  the 
fields. 


2.   Western  Andros  and  its  Antiquities, 

Everything  seemed  changed  when  we  left  the  valleys ; 
these  mountain  barriers  are  almost  as  effectual  as  the 
sea.  Western  and  Northern  Andros  offer  quite  a  different 
aspect  of  affairs.  We  were  once  more  in  the  land  of  anti- 
quities, and,  furthermore,  we  were  in  the  land  of  Albanians, 
not  of  Greeks.  Alone  of  the  Cyclades,  Andros  has  been 
subjected  to  a  Sclavic  wave,  and  this  wave  has  only  swept 
over  the  north  and  west.  In  the  north,  dress,  language, 
and  customs  are  all  Albanian  ;  where  we  had  been  they 
were  either  Greek  or  Italian.  In  this  way  it  is  easy  to 
see  where  the  wave  stopped,  and  how  far  the  Greeks  of 
to-day  have  been  subjected  to  the  Albanian  influence. 
The  Cyclades  have,  except  in  this  remote  corner  of 
Andros,  entirely  escaped,  and,  except  in  the  larger  islands 
—  Andros,  Naxos,  Santorin,  and  Tenos — the  Italian  in- 
fluence has  been  but  little  felt.   The  islands  for  the  most 


ANDROS.  287 


part  are  barren,  and  have  not  been  sought  after  as  hunt- )  \ 
ing  grounds  by  alien  races  ;  hence  the  Cyclades  present  a  j  1  I  / 
more  favourable  field  to  the  study  of  Hellenism  than !  ;  ^ 
almost  any  other  portion  of  what  was  once  Hellas.  \  j 

The  view  from  the  highlands  of  Andros,  as  we  began 
rapidly  to  descend  the  more  precipitous  slopes  of  Western 
Andros,  was  very  fir;e ;  another  of  those  ever-varying 
groupings  of  islands  which  form  the  charm  of  every 
view  in  the  Cyclades.  Close  to  us  now  was  the  isle  of 
Gyaros — just  a  large  barren  rock,  uninhabited,  except  in 
summer  time  by  herdsmen.  I  had  a  secret  wish  to 
visit  this  island,  remembering  that  in  the  days  of  Tiberius 
there  had  been  some  talk  of  sending  Silanus  and  Vibius 
here  in  exile,  but  that  the  senate  had  voted  this  punish- 
ment inhuman,  and  had  chosen  Amorgos  instead.  In 
Juvenal's  time  the  horrors  of  banishment  to  Gyaros  were 
proverbial.  I  thought,  perhaps,  there  might  be  traces  of 
Roman  tombs  and  inscriptions ;  but  then  I  read  what 
Tournefort  had  to  say  about  it :  how  he  found  three 
peasants  there,  who  ate  his  biscuits  because  bad  weather 
had  prevented  the  boats  from  coming :  and  he  thus 
quaintly  concludes  : — *  I  found  nothing  but  field  mice,  of 
the  same  race,  perhaps,  as  those  which  Pliny  describes  as 
driving  out  the  old  inhabitants.'  So  my  ardour  was 
damped  ;  I  decided  to  limit  my  visits  in  the  Cyclades — 
certainly  in  winter  time — to  inhabited  islands. 

Palaeopolis,  as  the  Andriotes  now  call  the  spot  where 
the  ruins  of  the  old  city  still  exist,  is  a  heavenly  place. 
When  the  temples  and  the  public  buildings  stood  here 
it  must  have  been  one  of  those  ideal  places  which  we 
see  depicted  on  theatrical  drop-scenes.  Everything  that 
nature  can  provide  is  granted  to  this  spot.  Behind  it 
rise  the  precipitous  heights  of  Mount  Petalos.  Two  clear 
streams  dash  down  the  slopes,  amidst  olives,  cypresses, 


288  THE  CYC  LADES, 


and  lemons,  which  grow  in  profusion  here.  Below  is  the 
sea — and  not  a  breath  of  that  biting  north  wind  which 
had  tormented  us  so  on  the  heights — everything  was 
genial  and  pleasant  except,  perhaps,  the  interior  of  the 
peasant's  house  in  which  we  had  to  sleep.  There  are 
just  a  few  cottages  here,  inhabited  by  the  owners  of  the 
soil,  who  live,  as  they  told  us,  a  truly  *  peaceful  life,'  rarely 
seeing  any  visitors  from  the  outer  world — not  even  from 
the  capital.  We  were  accustomed  by  this  time  to  mud 
floors  and  black  cupboards  for  bedrooms,  but  somehow 
this  abode  at  Palaeopolis  had  even  more  horrors  than 
most.  Our  hostess  laughed  at  our  dismay  at  the  con- 
stant hopping  about  of  obnoxious  animalculce. 

Up  in  the  mountain,  down  in  the  plain, 
Right  in  the  middle  my  enemy  is  slain. 

This  little  homely  Greek  distich  illustrates  our  chief  in- 
door occupation  at  Palaeopolis. 

The  old  woman  was  busy  netting  silk  fishing-nets  for 
her  son,  and  her  old  blear-eyed  husband  w2ls  busy  making 
a  plough  in  the  shed  outside,  just  hacking  away  at  the 
stump  of  a  tree  with  the  most  primitive  instrument  the 
iron  age  could  produce.  On  the  wall  of  this  shed  hung 
a  skin,  which  he  told  me  was  his  ^Xdrs.  Now  at  first  sight 
the  word  does  not  convey  much,  but  I  had  seen  it  before 
at  Tenos  called  a  <f>\dKCy  and  in  other  places  a  <f>v\d/ciy  or 
thing  for  keeping  or  guarding  the  grain  in  when  it  has  been 
threshed  on  the  threshing  floor ;  and  if  you  open  Aris- 
tophanes (*  Plut'  V.  763)  you  will  find  exactly  the  same 
word  describing  exactly  the  same  thing.  The  Andriotes 
are  very  much  given  to  contracting  their  words  and  of 
making  words  out  of  whole  sentences,  so  their  dialect  is 
excessively  difficult  to  follow. 

Without  regret  we  left  our  humble  abode  and  spent 


ANDROS. 


289 


the  afternoon  amongst  the  ancient  ruins.  Though 
there  was  only  one  town  in  Andros,  properly  so  called, 
it  must  have  been  one  of  considerable  importance, 
for  Andros  was  taxed  by  Athens  at  the  same  ratio  as 
Naxos  and  Melos  ;  and  from  the  extent  of  the  walls,  the 
statues,  the  inscriptions  that  have  been  discovered  here, 
we  can  argue  that  it  was  a  town  of  some  size.  Every 
building  in  Palaeopolis,  church  or  cottage,  has  some 
trace  to  show  of  antiquity ;  but  excavation  here  would 
be  difficult,  considering  that  the  whole  area  which  the 
town  occupied  is  now  one  large  garden  planted  with 
trees,  and  there  is  a  considerable  depth  of  soil,  which  has 
been  washed  down  from  the  mountains,  and  intercepted 
on  its  way  to  the  sea.  In  digging  they  sometimes  come 
across  remains  three  or  four  yards  below  the  present  level 
of  the  soil. 

In  one  of  the  two  mountain  streams  are  the  columns 
of  an  ancient  white  marble  temple,  the  gateway  of  which 
can  still  be  seen  ;  just  a  wide  doorway  on  a  terrace,  pro- 
bably a  temple  of  Apollo,  for  it  contained  a  votive  tablet, 
which  is  still  to  be  seen,  let  into  the  house  of  one  Deme- 
trius Sterianus.  In  a  barley-field  wef  saw  the  headless 
torso  of  a  woman  and  child,  and  on  a  big  stone  by  the 
wayside,  in  rude  letters,  was  cut  AI02  EAIXIOT.  It  is 
not  likely  that  all  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Andros 
actually  lived  in  this  one  town  ;  the  presence  of  towers 
along  the  western  coast  argues  that  villages  and  cottages 
for  farmers,  perhaps  like  the  mandra  of  to-day,  were 
scattered  about,  and  of  this  inhabited  stretch  of  land  the 
haven  of  Gavrion  must  have  been  the  port.  As  for  the 
town  itself,  it  was  built  on  an  open  roadstead,  and  could 
not  be  approached  when  a  southern  gale  was  blowing. 
In  one  of  the  houses  of  this  village  Ross  found  his  hymn 
to  I  sis  cut  on  an  oblong  slab  of  white  marble  and  in- 

u 


290  THE   CYCLADES. 


scribed  in  columns,  and  in  nearly  every  house  we  sav 
inscriptions  for  the  most  part  turned  wrong  way  up,  and 
carefully  covered  with  whitewash. 

The  acropolis  of  Andros  is  a  good  climb  from  the 
town,  and  on  the  top  of  it  is  the  basis  of  a  square  tower 
and  traces  of  brick  pipes,  up  which  presumably  water 
was  carried  from  the  hill  above  to  the  top  of  the  tower  ; 
and  by  its  side  is  the  little  yellow  church  of  St.  Demetrius, 
containing  an  inscription. 

It  is  curious  to  hear  local  legends  about  these  towers. 
Two  brothers  built  two  towers,  of  which  the  one  of 
St.  Peter  at  Gavrion  was  so  much  the  best,  that  the  other 
brother  who  built  this  one  of  St.  Demetrius,  on  the 
acropolis  of  Andros,  was  jealous.  So  he  invited  his 
brother  one  day  to  dinner,  and  took  him  to  the  top  of 
his  tower,  and  whilst  he  was  engaged  in  admiring  the 
view,  he  threw  him  over  and  killed  him.  A  parallel  to 
this  might  easily  be  found  on  the  Rhine  or  anywhere 
in  Western  Europe. 

Saturday  night  we  spent  at  PalaeopoHs ;  an  ever- 
memorable  night  of  misery.  It  was  the  first  Saturday 
in  Lent,  a  day  on  which  the  pious  Andriotes  do  not  work 
in  the  fields  ;  so  we  had  the  pleasure  of  the  company  of 
the  whole  family,  a  most  inquisitive,  ungainly  lot 

In  the  evening  some  girls  came  in  with  branches  of 
olives  in  their  hands,  and  there  was  evidently  going  to 
be  some  most  exciting  entertainment  in  which  the  young 
men  and  the  young  women  were  greatly  interested,  so 
we  watched  them  closely.  Presently  one  of  the  girls 
threw  a  sprig  of  olive  into  the  embers  of  a  brazier,  saying 
as  she  did  so,  *  Does  Andreas  love  me  }  *  Then  a  young 
man  did  the  same,  mentioning  the  name  of  some  girl. 
On  inquiry  I  was  told  that  this  is  a  common  custom 
here  on  the  first  Saturday  of  Lent :  if  the  leaves  of  the 


ANDROS.  291 


olive  twig  crackle  and  leap  out  of  the  fire,  it  is  a  sign  that 
their  fondest  hopes  of  love  will  be  realised  ;  if,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  bum,  it  is  a  sure  sign  of  disappointment. 

Next  morning,  very  early,  we  set  off  for  Mpatzi,  where 
first  we  became  merged  in  Albanian  life.  Here  the 
women  wear  the  Albanian  costume  as  in  Attica,  but  the 
men  do  not  wear  the  snow -wh\t^  fustanellay  so  associated 
in  our  minds  with  the  pallicari  of  the  mainland ;  but 
they  have  adopted  the  ordinary  island  costume  of  wide 
baggy  trousers  {fipaKia).  In  Mpatzi,  both  Greek  and 
Albanian  are  spoken,  but  north  of  this  we  became  im- 
mersed in  the  latter  speech  only,  and  consequently  were 
debarred  from  free  intercourse  with  the  peasants. 

There  is  no  record  of  the  time  when  the  Albanians 
found  their  way  to  Andros ;  only  a  tradition,  undoubtedly 
true,  that  centuries  ago  their  ancestors  crossed  over  the 
narrow  straits  of  Doro  from  Karystos  in  Euboea,  and 
settled  in  Gavrion  ;  and  yet  the  place  names  of  northern 
Andros  are  unchanged  from  the  days  of  antiquity. 

Mpatzi  has  a  comfortable  little  harbour  full  of  fishing- 
boats,  but  nothing  more.  All  the  boats  here  have  the 
step  on  the  stern,  on  to  which  the  fisherman  leaps  when 
he  has  pushed  his  craft  off  the  beach  ;  they  have  huge  iron 
rowlocks  and  unwieldy  oars.  We  saw,  too,  a  curiously 
contrived  boat  for  shell-fishing  fitted  with  an  iron  triangle 
which  is  let  down  into  the  sea  with  a  net ;  this  triangle 
scrapes  the  shellfish  off  the  bottom,  and  then  they  are 
caught  in  the  net.  This  they  work  by  means  of  chains 
and  a  wheel  in  the  boat.  It  is  tremendous  labour,  and  re- 
quires two  men  to  turn  the  wheel,  whilst  a  third  rows.  So 
they  call  this  method  of  fishing  apyaXioVy  *  something  hard 
to  do,'  like  the  women's  handloom.*  During  Lent  shell- 
fish, and  especially  cuttle-fish,  are  very  much  sought  after, 

»  Vide  p.  78. 

u  2 


292  THE  CYCLADES. 

and  eaten  in  large  quantities  ;  the  shell  of  the  cuttle-fish 
comes  in  handy  for  spoons,  and  for  bait  to  catch  other 
cuttle-fish.  I  am  sure  that  if  some  enterprising  English- 
man would  boil,  pickle,  and  send  out  to  Greece  the  cuttle- 
fish we  throw  away  iti  disgust,  his  fortune  would  be  made. 

The  damp  of  Pandchrantos  and  the  sudden  changes  of 
temperature  on  our  journey,  had  now  asserted  themselves, 
and  before  reaching  Gavrion  that  evening  symptoms  of 
fever  had  set  in.  Nature,  not  art,  cured  me,  for  Gavrion 
does  not  possess  a  doctor,  only  a  deaf  old  man  who  knew 
something  about  herbs,  and  whose  presence  half-a-dozen 
times  a  day  in  my  room  was  worse  than  the  fever.  I 
think  he  fancied  I  was  going  into  a  consumption— a 
common  disease,  I  believe,  in  Andros,  and  which  the 
peasants  believe  to  be  the  Erinys,  who  sits  at  the  four 
corners  of  the  death-chamber  ready  to  seize  on  any  who 
come  near.  Hence  consumption  is  said  to  be  infectious: 
children  and  newly  married  people,  whom  it  is  supposed 
the  Erinys  chiefly  attack,  are  forbidden  to  come  near 
the  sick-chamber. 

Of  all  places  in  the  world  Gavrion  is  one  of  the  most 
desolate.  A  few  houses  are  dotted  along  the  shore  of  a 
spacious  land-locked  harbour  ;  before  these  houses  stand 
tall  wooden  erections  that  look  like  gallows,  but  they 
are  merely  places  on  which  to  dry  the  bodies  of  the  octo- 
podia  in  the  sun  and  wind.  There  is  not  a  tree  in  sight, 
only  a  marshy  plain  dangerous  from  its  miasma  in  sum- 
mer, but  when  we  were  there  a  perfect  garden  of  sweet- 
smelling  narcissus.  The  most  interesting  sight  we  saw 
at  Gavrion,  on  the  Saturday  after  we  arrived  and  the 
first  day  I  was  able  to  get  up,  was  a  troop  of  Albanian 
peasants,  who  came  in  this  day  to  have  their  cases  of 
litigation  settled.  The  Greeks  say  that  they  are  ten 
times  more  quarrelsome  than  themselves,  and  bring  their 


ANDROS,  293 


women  too  as  witnesses,  in  their  long  white  dresses  and 
embroidered  cloaks.  In  the  afternoon  most  of  them  got 
drunk  on  the  mulberry  liquor,  and  thereby  laid  the  seeds 
for  future  quarrels  and  litigation. 

Gavrion  has  no  protection  from  the  north  winds, 
which  rush  down  upon  it  from  the  lofty  mountains  of 
Euboea,  and  do  great  harm  to  the  crops.  On  this  account 
the  threshing  floors  near  here  are  surrounded  by  huge 
tall  slabs  with  a  narrow  opening  to  the  north,  so  that  just 
enough  wind  may  enter  to  assist  in  winnowing  the  corn  ; 
otherwise  all  the  straw  and  corn  would  be  scattered  by 
the  blasts. 

The  inhabitants  of  Gavrion,  too,  struck  us  as  morose, 
and  not  too  hospitably  inclined.  We  had  a  letter  to  the 
demarch,  who  as  a  matter  of  course  received  us  ;  but  he 
and  his  wife  never  appeared  during  our  stay,  and  left  us 
alone  to  our  frugal  meals  :  perhaps  they  thought  I  had 
an  Erinys  or  some  other  infectious  malady.  All  the 
time  we  were  there  we  only  saw  a  little  maidservant 
aged  seven,  who  attended  to  our  wants. 

At  Gavrion  there  are  evident  traces  of  antiquity  ; 
doubtless  it  was  the  port  of  Andros  in  ancient  days,  for 
there  are  several  towers  built  near  it,  and  it  ought  to  be 
the  port  of  Andros  to-day  if  there  was  sufficient  energy 
to  open  roads,  so  that  the  lemon  trade  might  pass  through 
here  instead  of  depending  on  the  dangerous  port  of  the 
present  capital. 

Before  leaving  Gavrion  we  took  an  easy  excursion  to 
the  Albanian  village  of  Phello,  a  clean,  hospitably-in- 
clined place,  very  picturesque,  and  with  houses  for  the 
most  part  decorated  with  old  china  plates  built  into  the 
walls.  On  one  house  we  were  amused  to  find  a  willow- 
patterned  plate  thus  honoured.  They  have  glorious 
views  from  here  over  the  snow-capped  peaks  of  Euboea, 


294  THE  CYCLADES, 


and  the  dress  is  quaint,  like  those  you  see  as  you  drive 
trom  Athens  to  Eleusis.  They  make  sacks  too,  which 
they  embroider  with  uncouth  patterns  of  their  own.  They 
are  as  different  as  possible  in  expression  and  type  of 
features  from  their  Greek  neighbours.  I  was  told  they 
were  very  superstitious,  and  I  should  have  liked  to  have 
collected  a  few  of  their  beliefs,  so  as  to  compare  them  with 
those  of  the  Greeks,  but  their  tongue  was  an  effectual 
barrier  to  conversation. 

Close  to  Phell6  we  visited  an  ancient  marble  quarry, 
where  are  still  to  be  seen  huge  blocks  of  marble  cut  out 
of  the  cliff  ready  for  transportation.  The  quality  did 
not  look  to  me  so  good  as  even  that  of  Naxos,  but  tra- 
dition says  that  the  white  temple  of  Apollo  at  Sunium 
was  built  of  it 

Without  a  pang  of  regret  we  turned  our  backs  on 
Gavrion  next  day,  and  set  off  to  see  Jhe  old  round  ^Hel- 
lenic tower  of  St.  Peter — a  fine  object  on  the  hillside, 
surrounded  by  olives,  and  just  below  a  hamlet  of  the 
same  name,  about  half  an  hour's  ride  from  Gavrion 
harbour.  The  stones  of  which  it  was  built  have  be- 
come rich  and  mellow  with  age  ;  they  are  colossal  at  the 
foundation,  and  diminish  in  size  as  they  go  up.  As  the 
tower  of  St.  Peter  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  relics  of 
ancient  Greek  strategic  art,  I  will  give  a  minute  descrip- 
tion of  it  in  a  note. 

After  leaving  the  tower  we  went  on  to  the  neighbour- 
ing monastery  of  Hagia,  to  which  the  tower  belongs  ; 
mentally  resolving  that,  if  the  accommodation  was  not 
superior  to  that  of  Pandchrantos,  and  if  our  prospects  of 
food  were  no  brighter,  we  would  push  on  to  the  next 
village,  where  we  were  sure  of  a  good  reception  and 
decent  accommodation. 

Outside,  like  all  Greek  monasteries,  it  was  forbidding 
enough  ;  just  a  fortified  mass  covering  an  acre  of  ground 


ANDROS,  295 


on  the  top  of  a  hill,  so  that  there  was  no  doubt  about 
its  being  cold,  but  inside  affairs  looked  more  promising. 
A  jolly  fat  superior  met  us  in  the  guest-room,  which  was 
heated  for  bur  benefit,  as  they  had  received  intimation 
of  our  intended  visit,  and  next  to  it  was  a  comfortable 
kitchen  ;  and  it  appeared  that  no  restriction  would  be  put 
on  eating,  for  a  fowl  was  already  in  the  stew-pot,  which 
sent  forth  grateful  odours  to  our  nostrils.  When  dinner 
time  came  the  superior  and  the  archpriest.  Bishop  of 
Stavropolis — who  had  retired  to  his  native  monastery  to 
end  his  days — sat  down  with  us  and  enjoyed  their  cuttle- 
fish and  pickled  octopus,  whilst  we  discussed  our  soup 
and  fowl. 

The  bishop  was  a  highly  intellectual  and  pleasing 
man  ;  he  has  produced  a  monograph  on  the  celebrities 
of  Andros,  with  a  copy  of  which  he  presented  me,  and 
he  has  actually  managed  to  get  together  twenty-one, 
beginning  with  an  Andriote  who  won  a  wrestling-match 
in  the  Olympic  games  prior  to  the  Median  wars,  and 
ending  with  one  Kotakes,  who  distinguished  himself 
in  the  last  war  between  Russia  and  Turkey.  Theo- 
philus  Kalres,  whom  we  already  know,  was  by  far  his 
greatest  character,  and  to  his  life  most  of  the  pages  of 
the  brochure  are  devoted. 

As  usual,  we  were  waited  upon  by  a  deformity — a 
little  hunchback  this  time— whose  rapidity  at  vespers 
that  night  in  saying  his  Kyrie  eleisons  was  little  short 
of  a  miracle.  After  dinner  we  sallied  forth  to  visit  the 
monastery.  It  does  not  possess  half  the  attractions  of 
Panachrantos ;  the  church  is  inferior  in  beauty,  but 
behind  the  high  altar  there  is  a  curious  cave,  which  you 
have  to  enter  on  hands  and  knees.  Here  is  the  sacred 
source  {apfLaar^a)  from  which  the  name  of  the  life-giving 
stream  has  been  given  to  the  monastery.  The  water  in 
this  tank  is  subject  to  a  curious  incrustation,  which,  when 


296  THE  CYCLADES. 


we  saw  it,  resembled  a  thin  layer  of  ice,  but  they  say 
that  in  summer  time  it  becomes  much  thicker.  This  is 
the  miracle-working  stream.  Is  it  not  possible  that  here 
we  have  the  source  which  at  certain  times  of  the  year 
was  supposed  to  turn  into  wine  ?  It  is  far  more  likely 
that  a  temple  of  Dionysos  stood  here  than  at  Menites, 
for  all  about  here  are  traces  of  ruins.  It  is  close  to  the 
tower  of  St.  Peter,  and  within  easy  reach  of  the  old 
town  and  the  port,  and  the  position  of  the  stream  is 
such  that  an  ingenious  priesthood  could  easily  effect  a 
miracle  ;  and,  furthermore,  in  the  early  days  of  Chris- 
tianity monasteries  and  churches  bearing  the  name  of  the 
life-giving  stream  were  generally  built  over  a  stream 
which  in  the  old  cult  had  been  accredited  with  miraculous 
powers.  This  is  only  a  speculation,  but  it  appears  to  me 
a  possible  one. 

No  one  knows  when  the  monastery  of  Hagia  was 
founded  ;  all  we  know  is  that  it  was  in  existence  in 
1533,  for  the  Bishop  of  Stavropolis  showed  me  a  docu- 
ment of  that  date  recounting  a  large  grant  of  land,  stretch- 
ing from  sea  to  sea,  in  Andros,  given  by  one  Stratopoulos 
of  Sparta,  who  seems  to  have  renewed  the  monastic 
building,  and  further  endowed  it ;  and  then  there  was 
another  grant  of  land  from  his  widow,  who  inserted 
curious  conditions  in  her  grant — first,  that  she  should 
be  entered  as  a  sister,  and  then  that,  when  she  died,  all 
the  monks  should  follow  her  to  her  tomb. 

We  visited  several  of  the  cells,  and  amongst  others 
that  of  a  very  aged  monk  with  one  foot  in  the  grave. 
Owing  to  his  infirmities  he  was  allowed  to  have  his  sister- 
in-law  to  live  with  him  inside  the  monastic  walls,  to 
.administer  to  his  wants. 

The  great  attraction  of  this  monastery  is  its  li- 
brary, containing  some  very  old  and  valuable  illuminated 


ANDROS.  297 


manuscripts.  One  gospel  bears  the  date  1 1 56,  and  has 
illuminations  and  quaint  pictures  of  the  four  evangelists 
at  the  beginning  of  each  gospel  ;  from  verses  at  the 
end  we  gather  that  it  was  written  for  the  Very  Holy 
Archbishop  of  Cyprus,  John.  Some  of  the  verses  at 
the  end  of  these  manuscripts  are  interesting,  as  showing 
the  intense  labour,  and  the  intense  relief  of  a  mediaeval 
monk  when  he  had  accomplished  his  task  *  with  trouble, 
sweat  and  labour,'  as  they  say.  One  of  these  is  a  musical 
Psalter  with  dots  for  the  music,  and  the  words  beneath 
the  dots  :  a  work  of  exquisite  toil,  of  a  lifetime  almost. 
Appended  are  some  expressive  verses,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  literal  translation  :^- 

As  a  traveller  rejoiceth 

His  country  to  see  ; 
As  a  mariner  yearneth 

In  harbour  to  be  ; 
As  a  merchant  enjoyeth 

The  gain  that's  accrued  ; 
So  it  pleaseth  the  writer 

His  book  to  conclude. 

This  library  contains  also  a  perfect  copy  of  St.  Poly- 
carp's  epistle  to  the  Philippians,  and  one  of  the  most 
beautifully  illuminated  liturgies  of  St.  Basil  I  ever  saw. 

We  had  a  pleasant  evening  with  the  monks,  who 
gave  us  a  warm  dry  bed,  so  when  we  left  next  morning 
we  felt  more  charitably  disposed  towards  monastic 
institutions. 

Certainly,  in  travelling  through  the  isles  of  Greece, 
we  became  acquainted  with  varied  hosts  and  strong 
contrasts.  Our  next  journey  took  us  to  a  village  called 
Katclkoilos,  in  the  heart  of  the  Andriote  mountains,  and 
here  we  were  taken  in  by  Mr.  Zaraphonides. 

Now  the  possessor  of  this  long  name  was  an  Andriote 
by  birth,  but  had  passed  most  of  his  life  in  America  ; 


298  THE  CYCLADES. 


there  he  had  joined  a  religious  society,  members  of 
which  bound  themselves  by  an  obligation  to  devote 
twelve  years  of  their  life  to  missionary  labour.  Knowing 
the  superstitions  and  the  ignorance  of  his  relatives  at 
home,  Mr.  Zaraphonides  thought  that  he  could  do  no 
more  valuable  work  than  in  his  native  Andros.  Ac- 
cordingly he  married  a  charming  youn^  American  wife, 
and  two  years  ago  he  brought  her  to  Katikoilos,  to  a 
cottage  with  a  mud  floor  and  no  glass  in  the  windows, 
and  to  a  mother-in-law  with  bare  legs  and  witchlike 
appearance. 

In  these  two  years  they  had  wrought  wonders  in 
the  house :  the  mud  floor  had  given  place  to  boards, 
the  charcoal  brazier  had  given  place  to  a  stove,  glass 
windows  were  put  in,  and  an  air  of  comfort  reigned 
therein  ;  but  with  the  old  mother-in-law  and  the  neigh- 
bours their  success  as  yet  had  not  been  marked.  When 
her  grandchildren  were  born,  the  old  crone  insisted  on 
going  through  her  incantations,  in  spite  of  all  her  son 
could  say,  and  she  interferes  with  the  household  ar- 
rangements whenever  her  superstitions  prompt  her. 
She  had  been  exceeding  wroth  with  her  daughter-in-law 
for  lending  a  neighbour  some  wood  on  the  first  of  the 
month,  a  sure  omen  of  impending  poverty  ;  she  was 
most  careful  to  see  that  the  yeast  for  the  family  bread 
was  never  exposed  to  the  stars  for  fear  of  sickness,  and 
she  did  not  take  kindly  to  the  principles  of  teetotalism 
inculcated  by  her  son.  Nay,  she  even  insisted  on  having 
her  own  barrel  of  wine  in  the  cellar,  out  of  which  she 
could  draw  a  gourdful  to  offer  to  any  strangers  who 
came,  in  conformance  with  the  Andriote's  law  of  hospi- 
tality. She  was  a  curious  old  woman — dirty,  unkempt 
like  her  neighbours,  talking  an  almost  unintelligible 
patois,  of  a  truth  a  real  trial  of  a  mother-in-law — but 


ANDROS,  299 


,the  neighbours  told  me  that  the  soft  winning  ways  of  her 
daughter-in-law  had  done  far  more  towards  subduing 
her  hardened  heart  than  all  the  lectures  of  her  son  on 
teetotalism  put  together. 

Thanks  to  our  host,  I  was  able  to  understand  all 
she  told  us  about  vampires  and  bugbears.  She  affirmed 
that  she  herself  had  heard  the  bones  of  a  young  woman 
rattle  in  the  grave,  and  that,  owing  to  the  general  dread, 
the  priest  had  been  persuaded  to  open  the  grave,  and 
lo  !  they  had  found  the  body  undissolved — a  clear  proof 
of  its  ghostly  properties.  So  they  had  cut  it  into  shreds 
and  burnt  it.  This  happened  only  a  few  months  before 
our  visit. 

Certainly  the  Andriotes  are  most  hospitable ;  nothing 
that  the  Zaraphonides  could  do,  short  of  a  glass  of  wine, 
was  left  undone  ;  and  next  morning  we  started  laden 
with  provisions  for  our  way,  which  led  right  across  the 
mountains  towards  the  capital.  Luckily  it  was  a  lovely 
day,  for  we  had  to  cross  over  fields  of  snow  and  streams 
still  hard  with  ice,  and  when  we  had  crossed  over  Mount 
Pejtalos  we  were  once  more  in  paradise,  that  is  to  say 
in  Lamyra,  one  of  those  enchanting  villages  on  the 
southern  slopes  of  Mount  Petalos,  just  above  the  town. 
Olive  trees  of  huge  girth  and  tall  cypresses  shaded  our 
path,  garden  after  garden  of  lemon  trees,  laden  with  their 
yellow  fruit,  so  closely  packed  together  that  the  paths 
between  them  are  not  wide  enough  for  two  laden  mules 
to  pass  :  and  through  this  clustering  foliage  you  dimly 
see  the  bluish  mountains  across  the  vale,  and  the  still 
bluer  sea  beyond. 

Here  we  had  further  instance  of  Andriote  hospitality 
— a  hospitality  that  gives  freely  and  asks  no  questions. 
Our  pockets  were  never  free  from  quinces,  oranges, 
and  lemons,  given  us  by  people  whom  we  heard  ask  one 


300  THE  CYCLADES, 

another, '  Are  they  Christians  ? '  and  receive  for  reply, 
*  No  ;  lords/  We  were  having  our  midday  meal  in  a 
wineshop  at  Lamyra,  when  up  walked  a  delicate-looking 
elderly  man,  and  inquired  of  our  muleteers  if  we  were 
having  a  picnic.  *  No,'  replied  they,  *they  are  travellers.' 
Without  further  question  he  came  up  to  us  and  bid  us 
welcome.  *  Will  you  come  and  take  coffee  at  my  house 
close  by  } '  he  asked  ;  and  we,  thinking  it  a  pity  to  refuse 
so  good  an  offer,  followed  him  to  one  of  those  large  white 
towers  of  the  archons,  and  were  introduced  to  his  wife, 
a  pretty  faded  woman  called  Kyria  Evanthea,  and  three 
delicate  daughters. 

Rather  to  our  dismay  we  found  seated  at  table 
our  old  friend  Superior  Gregorios  of  Pandchrantos,  and 
another  monk  ;  they  had  dropped  in  for  a  midday  re- 
past, and  ate  far  more  heartily  than  we  could  have 
given  them  credit  for.  In  fact,  Kyrios  Parodes — for  that 
was  our  host's  name — had  quite  a  large  gathering  at 
his  house  :  his  two  sisters,  and  a  brother,  a  priest,  with 
whom  we  were  begged  to  sit  down  and  partake  of  the 
meal  that  was  spread.  The  priestly  brother  was  by 
trade  a  watchmaker,  and  sat  hard  at  work  all  the  after- 
noon in  a  window  with  his  tall  black  hat  on,  black 
cassock,  and  magenta  trousers,  for  somehow  the  priests' 
trousers  here  are  treated  like  ladies'  petticoats,  and  their 
colour  is  a  matter  of  little  moment. 

Presently  our  host  asked  where  we  intended  to  sleep 
that  night,  and  we  replied  that  it  was  our  intention  to 
present  ourselves  at  the  eparch's  door  and  ask  for  shelter 
till  the  steamer  came. 

*  But  the  eparch  has  got  the  nomarch  of  the  Cyclades 
staying  with  him  just  now  ;  he  cannot  take  you  in  ; '  and 
nothing  could  satisfy  the  kind  hospitable  man  but  that 
we  should  stay  with  him  for  the  night. 


ANDROS,  301 


All  Lamyra  came  to  afternoon  tea,  or  rather  sweets, 
to  meet  us ;  then  we  were  taken  for  a  walk  next  morning, 
and  to  call  upon  the  brother  of  our  hostess,  who  lived  in 
a  neighbouring  tower,  and  who  was  arrayed  in  a  peacock 
satin  robe,  a  dull  violet  satin  overcoat  lined  with  yellow 
fur,  a  red  handkerchief  round  his  neck,  and  a  fez  on  his 
head :  he  was  a  handsome  picturesque  man  on  whom 
the  name  of  Archon  KaYres  sat  well.  Thus  pleasantly 
ended  our  stay  in  Andros,  in  the  lovely  village  of 
Lamyra.  Half  an  hour  brought  us  to  the  town  and  the 
steamer  next  morning. 

NOTE. 
On  the  Round  Hellenic  Tower  of  Andros, 

The  tower  of  St.  Peter  is  round,  and  rests  upon  a  circular  foun- 
dation, which  is  a  little  over  twenty-three  yards  in  circumference, 
and  projects  a  little  over  a  yard  from  the  foundations  of  the  tower 
itself  This  foundation  is  about  four  and  one-third  feet  high,  and 
is  built  of  colossal  stones,  some  three,  some  four  yards  long,  and 
about  a  yard  is  a  good  average  thickness.  This  foundation  is  what 
usually  would  be  called  Pelasgic,  whereas  the  tower  which  is  built 
upon  it  is  in  a  much  more  advanced  style,  having  the  stone  care- 
fully levelled  on  the  outside,  and  chiselled  up  to  the  very  highest 

storey. 

The  entrance  is  to  the  south,  and  there  are  three  windows  over 
it ;  besides  this  the  tower  has  three  other  windows  or  apertures, 
perhaps  for  discharging  missiles  out  of  The  door  is  exceedingly 
curious,  being  only  a  yard  and  a  half  high,  and  made  of  four 
huge  stones,  two  of  which  form  the  jambs  and  the  other  two  the 
threshold  and  lintel,  and  rather  remind  one  of  the  door  into  the 
treasury  of  Atreus  at  Mycene  in  miniature.  The  width  of  the  door 
is  one  yard  four  inches,  and  the  stones  of  the  threshold  and  lintel 
are  longer  than  this,  and  project  into  the  walls  on  either  side  so  as 
to  form  a  support.  Anyone  entering  this  door  must  naturally  stoop 
to  go  in,  and  in  doing  so  will  consequently  look  down.  When  he 
gets  into  the  circular  room  inside,  he  will  be  surprised  not  to  see 
any  staircase  leading  up  to  the. higher  storeys  ;  but  on  examining 
the  doorway  again  he  will  find  that  there  is  a  hole  in  the  ceiling  of 


302  THE  CYCLADES, 

the  long  low  entrance,  like  a  chimney,  answering  a  double  purpose ; 
first,  if  an  enemy  who  is  ignorant  of  the  construction  of  this 
tower  tries  to  enter,  he  can  easily  be  struck  down  through  this 
aperture  above  him  whilst  he  is  stooping  ;  and,  secondly,  it  serves 
as  a  staircase  to  the  first  storey,  to  ascend  which  projecting  stones 
for  footholds  are  left  in  the  sides.  This  curious  chimney  staircase 
is  constructed  in  the  thickness  of  the  wall,  admitting  only  one 
person  at  a  time,  and  it  goes  no  further  than  the  first  storey. 

The  circular  room  entered  by  this  doorway  is  five  yards  three 
inches  in  diameter,  and  has  a  vaulted  roof — that  is  to  say,  the  inner 
part  of  the  outer  wall  gradually  inclines  upwards  to  a  point  like  the 
roof  of  the  treasury  of  Atreus,  caused  by  the  overlaying  of  the 
stones,  and  the  top  being  formed  by  radiating  slabs.  The  walls  on 
the  inside  are  smooth,  and  on  either  side  of  the  door  are  two 
niches,  through  which  a  small  amount  of  light  can  penetrate  ;  out- 
side they  are  mere  holes,  but  they  increase  in  a  triangular  form  as 
they  pierce  the  thickness  of  the  wall. 

On  ascending  the  chimney  staircase  you  reach  the  second 
storey,  which  is  chiefly  taken  up  by  the  dome  of  the  vaulted  roof  of 
the  first  storey  ;  and  from  here  starts  a  spiral  staircase,  which  goes 
up  to  the  topmost  storey,  but  of  which  only  twenty-five  steps  are 
now  left,  made  of  huge  stones  set  into  the  outer  wall,  and  projecting 
one  yard  eight  inches  inwards  ;  and  along  it  are  little  niches  for  the 
introduction  of  light.  Up  to  the  summit  of  the  tower  there  have 
been  six  storeys,  but  without  a  ladder  it  was  impossible  for  me  to  . 
reach  the  summit.  A  window  over  the  entrance  door,  similar  to  it 
in  size,  lights  the  second  storey,  and  in  the  walls  are  holes  in  which 
probably  beams  have  been  placed  to  form  floors  for  the  different 
storeys.  The  inner  wall  of  the  tower  from  top  to  bottom  has  been 
constructed  with  much  smaller  stones  than  the  outer,  and  well 
fitted  together  with  cement.  There  is  no  trace,  as  far  as  I  could 
see,  of  the  roof.  Over  the  window  of  the  second  storey  is  another 
smaller  window,  and  over  that  a  bigger  one.  To  the  left  of  this 
last  there  is  a  straight  slab  walled  in  as  a  protection  to  the  window, 
and  there  are  two  more  windows,  one  over  the  other,  for  the  storeys 
above  this. 

On  the  outer  wall  of  the  building  appear  four  square  shallow 
furrows  running  from  top  to  bottom,  which  at  first  sight  appear  to 
have  contained  drain  pipes  from  the  roof,  but  then  they  are  too 
carefully  executed  for  that;  it  is  just  possible  they  may  have 
served  some  military  purpose  of  which  we  are  now  ignorant. 


ANDROS.  303 


This  tower  of  Andros  is  a  venerable  relic  of  the  past,  and  de- 
serves to  be  carefully  preserved  ;  but  I  fear  the  tendency  is  towards 
destruction.  Grass  is  growing  luxuriantly  over  the  vaulted  roof  on 
the  first  storey,  now  ruined  in  the  centre  ;  cattle  find  shelter  here  from 
the  cold  and  sun  ;  and  then  the  topmost  storey  looks  in  a  very  totter- 
ing condition,  and  if  it  falls  it  will  destroy  the  vaulted  roof  and  other 
points  of  interest  below  it.  The  monastery  of  Hagia,  to  which  it 
belongs,  has  no  surplus  cash  to  spend  on  what  the  superior  called 
*  useless  ruins.'  So,  unless  some  enterprising  archaeologist  like  the 
prince  of  Bavaria,  who  bought  the  theatre  of  Melos,  comes  forward 
to  rescue  it,  a  valuable  relic  of  the  past  will  be  irretrievably  spoiled. 


304  THE  CYCLADES, 


CHAPTER  XIIL 

SYRA,  THE  CAPITAL  OF  THE  CYCLADES. 

Of  all  the  Cyclades  none  is  so  bleak  and  barren  as  Syra, 
yet  this  island  possesses  an  attraction  of  her  own,  and  a 
curious  history  of  modern  development ;  future  ages  will 
quote  this  little  spot  as  the  brightest  specimen  of  activity 
produced  by  the  revival  of  the  long  dormant  spirit  of 
independence  in  Greece.  Athens  has  been  forced  into 
a  modern  existence  by  the  necessity  of  having  a  capital 
somewhere.  Patras  has  flourished  because  the  site  of 
that  capital  was  foolishly,  through  sentimentality,  chosen 
on  the  eastern  coast,  whereas  the  existence  of  Greece 
to-day  is  due  to  the  West,  and  all  her  interests  lie  in 
the  West.  But  the  flourishing  commercial  centre  on  the 
island  of  Syra  is  due  to  the  spontaneous  outburst  of 
mercantile  activity  incident  on  the  recovery  of  freedom. 
Thus  in  many  ways  Hermoupolis,  on  Syra,  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  towns  of  the  Levant.  Whatever  was 
left  of  vitality  in  Greece  after  long  years  of  depression 
found  itself  drawn  to  rocky,  ungainly  Syra. 

It  is  a  night*s  journey  from  the  Piraeus  to  Syra  by 
steamboat,  and  the  effect  of  the  place  is  curious  as  you 
peep  out  of  your  porthole  on  the  busy  harbour  teeming 
with  gay-coloured  caiques  and  steamers  from  all  parts  of 
the  world.  It  is  apt  to  remind  the  traveller  a  little  of 
Genoa,  only  Syra  is  almost  entirely  a  white  town,  relieved 


SVI^A,    THE  CAPITAL  OF  THE  CYCLADES      305 

now  and  again  by  a  dash  of  yellow  wash.  Houses,  one 
above  another  like  the  steps  of  a  staircase,  completely 
cover  two  hills  and  surround  the  bay  in  the  form  of 
an  amphitheatre.  One  hill  is  crowned  by  the  mediaeval 
town  and  its  Latin  church,  the  other  by  the  modern 
Greek  town  and  a  Greek  church.  The  background  is 
formed  by  the  rocky  bleak  mountains  of  the  island,  so 
barren  and  so  treeless  that  one  wonders  if  this  can  pos- 
sibly be  the  spot  which  Homer  describes  thus — 

Of  soil  divine, 
A  good  land  teeming  with  fertility, 
Rich  with  green  pastures,  feeding  flocks  and  kine. 
A  fair  land  with  streams,  a  land  of  com  and  wine. 

WORSLEY,  *  Od.'  XV. 

Even  the  butter  consumed  nowadays  at  Syra  is 
brought  from  Athens.  In  the  town  there  are  no  wells  ; 
all  water  is  brought  in  carts  from  some  distance,  ex- 
cept what  each  householder  catches  in  his  private  tank. 
Little  rain  falls  here,  hence  in  summer  the  water-carts 
are  the  only  means  of  providing  a  supply. 

German  critics  have  been  inclined  to  question  the 
identity  of  Syra  with  the  above  passage  in  the  '  Odyssey/ 
chiefly  because  the  poet  called  it  by  such  fair  names, 
but  other  writers  besides  Homer  speak  of  the  fertility  of 
Syra.  Anacharsis  the  younger  calls  it  *a  fertile  island,' 
and  Tournefort,  in  1699,  mentions  seeing  the  stems  of 
great  withered  trees  on  the  shore.  Moreover,  there  are 
numerous  traces  of  olive-presses,  watercourses,  and  the 
like,  and  old  coins  of  Syra  have  representations  on  them 
of  Pan,  goats,  honey,  corn,  &c.,  and  in  many  places  the 
nomenclature  points  to  bygone  fertility.  The  fact  is,  Syra 
has  a  good  harbour,  and  no  island  in  the  -^gean  Sea 
with  a  good  harbour  escaped  from  the  ravages  of 
mediaeval  voyagers,  whether  honest  or  piratical  ;   they 

X 


3o6  THE  CYCLADES, 


cut  down  everything  that  grew,  and  left  the  place  as  it 
is  to-day — a  rocky  waste. 

It  was  a  brilliant  November  morning  when  I  reached 
Syra,  and  everything  was  life  and  bustle  around  the  egg- 
shaped  harbour  ;  all  the  boats  were  discharging  cargoes, 
just  now  having  run  in  with  a  favourable  breeze.  One 
highly-painted  green  brig  with  canvas  bulwarks  was  un- 
loading shaddocks  from  Naxos,  and  the  island  sailors  with 
their  blue  baggy  trousers,  red  fezes,  and  bare  legs  looked 
highly  picturesque  as  they  carried  baskets  of  the  freight 
along  the  plank  which  united  the  boat  with  the  quay ; 
another  caYque  was  discharging  small  round  cheeses  from 
Crete,  which  were  being  arranged  on  long  low  barrows  to 
be  carried  to  the  warehouses  ;  another  catque,  laden  with 
lemons  from  Andros,  was  awaiting  its  turn.  On  every 
boat  a  mongrel  was  barking  vigorously,  men  were  chatter- 
ing, and  women  were  huddled  up  in  corners  looking  the 
picture  of  misery.  It  is  marvellous  to  see  how  wretched 
these  island  women  are  when  on  the  water ;  though  they 
have  known  no  other  mode  of  progression  all  their  lives, 
they  never  get  accustomed  to  the  sea.  The  colouring 
of  Syra  harbour  is  especially  pretty.  Greek  sailors 
love  colour ;  their  boats,  their  sails,  and  their  dress  are 
gaudy. 

The  quay,  too,  was  gay  with  small  hucksters'  shops. 
One  man  had  a  pile  of  eikons,  or  sacred  pictures,  where- 
with to  tempt  the  pious  about  to  start  on  a  voyage, 
pictures  of  St.  Nicholas  being  most  numerous  on  his 
stall,  for  he  is  the  patron  saint  of  the  seafarer  ;  another 
man  had  besoms,  his  neighbour  sold  Russian  tea-bowls 
and  large  wooden  spoons,  whilst  a  third  offered  for  sale 
brilliantly  coloured  handkerchiefs,  which,  though  made 
in  Manchester,  are  particularly  Eastern  in  appearance. 
All  amongst  these  stalls  the  water-cart  was  threading  its 


SVRAy   THE  CAPITAL  OF  THE  CYCLADES.     307 

way,  to  supply  the  huge  amphorcB  which  each  house- 
holder produced  as  the  cart  went  by  with  the  daily 
portion.  Far  along  the  quay  was  the  fish  market,  with 
strange  sights  for  unaccustomed  eyes.  Advent  was  soon 
to  begin — that  is,  the  month's  fast  before  Christmas — so 
there  was  any  amount  of  octopodia  in  the  market  ready 
to  be  dried  and  stewed  for  this  period.  Sea-urchins, 
too,  and  bright  red  pinna  shells,  the  contents  of  which 
form  a  substantial  part  of  a  Syriote's  meal,  this  morning 
were  plentiful,  besides  red  mullet  and  haddock,  which  to 
us  looked  more  tempting.  In  front  of  this  market  the 
boats  of  the  Psariote  and  Hydriote  fishermen,  with  their 
osier  instead  of  canvas  bulwarks,  are  lying.  These  men 
are  the  best  fishermen  in  the  archipelago ;  and  if  you 
desire  to  travel  amongst  these  islands  in  spite  of  their 
treacherous  winds,  by  all  means  choose  one  of  them. 

Syra  boasts  of  two  hotels,  very  passable  for  Greece, 
where  travellers  who  venture  beyond  the  capital  do  not 
expect  luxuries.  We  were  glad  enough  to  rest  in  one 
after  the  voyage,  and  cast  about  us  as  to  how  we  should 
pass  our  time. 

*  Syra,'  wrote  Toumefort  in  1699,  *  is  the  most 
Catholic  island  of  the  archipelago,'  and  singularly 
enough  it  is  to  Roman  Catholicism  that  this  spot  owes 
its  existence  as  a  commercial  centre.  No  one  ever  heard 
of  Syra  in  classical  times,  except  as  a  refuge  for  sailors. 
It  was  inhabited,  it  is  true,  and  from  time  to  time  pro- 
duces archaeological  treasures,  but  it  never  had  the  name 
that  ancient  writers  give  to  Andros,  Naxos,  or  Melos  ; 
consequently  the  first  pages  of  the  history  of  Syra  begin 
in  mediaeval  times,  when  it  was  chosen  as  a  centre  for 
Roman  Catholic  missions  in  the  East  Under  the  Latin 
rule  in  the  archipelago,  Syra,  doubtless  owing  to  its 
good  harbour  and  central  position,  recommended  itself 

X  2 


3o8  THE  CYCLADES, 


to  the  notice  of  the  Capuchins,  and  on  the  top  of  the 
conical  hill  which  is  still  covered  by  the  old  town  they 
built  a  convent  and  a  church.  They  were  followed  by 
the  priests,  and  from  this  centre  they  sent  out  missions 
to  all  the  neighbouring  islands  with  such  success  that 
under  the  Turks,  who  treated  the  islanders  always  with 
consideration,  there  were  in  the  Cyclades  almost  as 
many  of  the  Western  as  of  the  Eastern  Church.  Naxos, 
Santorin,  Tenos,  Andros  were  almost  subservient  to  the 
Papal  See. 

When  corsairs  and  pirates  disturbed  them,  the  holy 
fathers  of  Syra  made  bitter  complaints  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  powers  in  the  West,  and  the  end  of  it  all  was 
that  Louis  XIII.  of  France  took  Syra  under  his  especial 
protection.  From  the  convent  on  the  hill  the  French 
flag  was  hung,  and  by  this  means  the  basis  for  the 
fortunes  of  Syra  centuries  later  was  laid. 

From  that  time  until  the  present  day  the  Roman 
Catholic  bishops  of  Syra  have  been  elected  by  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  from  this  rock  they  have  made  a 
desperate  attempt  to  convert  the  Eastern  world  to  their 
way  of  thinking ;  but  since  the  war  of  independence 
Roman  Catholicism  has  been  unpopular,  and  must  soon 
disappear  under  the  present  order  of  things. 

Our  friend  Tournefort  tells  us  of  the  prosperity  of 
Syra  even  in  his  time,  when  only  a  few  families  lived  in 
a  cluster  on  the  conical  hill  around  the  convent.  He 
says  he  could  not  rest  at  night  for  the  noise  of  the  hand- 
mills  for  corn,  or  by  day  for  the  noise  of  the  wheels 
which  they  used  to  thread  cotton  with ;  but  it  was  re- 
freshing, he  adds,  to  see  the  French  flag  flying  and  to 
hear  in  churches,  both  Greek  and  Latin,  this  chant 
sung,  *  Domine  salvum  fac  regeml  to  which  they  added 
*  nostrum  Ludoviaitn' 


11 


SVJ^A,    THE  CAPITAL   OF  THE  CYCLADES,     309 

This  was  the  state  of  Syra  at  the  beginning  of  the 
war  of  independence.  According  to  Pasch  van  Krienen, 
who  was  sent  to  the  islands  by  the  Russians  with  a  view 
to  annexation,  the  inhabitants  numbered  only  1,000 
souls  about  a  century  ago.  The  Turks  knew  them  only 
by  the  name  of  taivshan  or  hares,  for  whenever  a  Turkish 
ship  appeared  in  the  harbour  they  would  run  up  the 
hills,  and  could  nowhere  be  found.  What  a  contrast  is 
this  to  the  state  of  Syra  to-day,  being,  as  it  is,  one  of  the 
busiest  marts  in  the  Levant ! 

The  freedom  of  Greece  introduced  an  entirely  new 
era  into  this  island,  and  the  circumstances  occurred  a? 
follows  :  The  great  massacre  of  Christians  in  Chios  and 
Psara  drove  from  their  homes  some  of  the  bravest  and 
most  commerce-loving  of  the  Greek-speaking  world. 
No  tragedy  in  history  is  more  thrilling  than  the  story  of 
this  massacre  ;  unfortunately  it  is  too  near  our  own  times 
for  any  of  us  to  know  as  much  about  it  as  we  do  about 
the  Sicilian  Vespers  or  the  massacre  of  St.  Bartholo- 
mew. However,  historians  of  future  ages  will  rank  it 
with  these,  and  it  will  be  one  of  the  deepest  blots  on  the 
annals  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

After  innumerable  adventures  by  sea  and  land  the 
refugees  from  Chios,  rich  men  who  had  been  nursed  in 
the  lap  of  luxury,  found  their  way  on  caiques  to  various 
parts  of  Greece  proper,  where  the  standard  of  revolt  had 
been  raised,  and  where  for  a  time  they  would  be  safe. 
Some  went  to  Spetzia  and  Hydra,  others  further  afield 
in  search  of  a  livelihood  ;  but  eventually  all  these 
refugees  found  themselves  gathered  around  a  few  of 
the  more  energetic  spirits  on  the  island  of  Tenos.  The 
inhabitants,  whose  Roman  Catholic,  and  hence  neutral, 
proclivities  were  strong,  did  not  receive  them  with 
favour ;  the  plague  broke  out  amongst  them ;  commerce 


3IO  THE  CYC  LADES. 

could  not  flourish,  for  the  harbourage  was  bad  in  Tenos ; 
so  the  refugees  cast  about  in  their  minds  for  another 
asylum,  and  after  mature  deliberation  settled  on  the 
island  of  Keos,  the  one  of  the  Cyclades  nearest  to  the 
Saronic  Gulf,  and  the  one  which  in  all  ages  had  been  the 
\^ ,  commercial  centre  in  the  iEgean  Sea,  during  classical 
I  and  mediaeval  times  alike.  To  this  island  a  deputation 
Was  sent,  to  make  an  offer  for  starting  their  commercial 
operations  there  instead  of  at  Tenos.  But  the  magnates 
of  Keos,  to  their  own  detriment,  flatly  refused  this  offer  ; 
they  feared  lest  their  island  should  be  made  a  special 
mark  for  revenge  if  the  war  of  independence  went 
against  Greece.  So  Keos  pusillanimously  elected  to 
lose  its  name  as  the  commercial  centre  of  the  iEgean 
Sea. 

The  arrangements  made  between  the  refugees  and 
the  inhabitants  of  Syra  will  probably  never  be  known. 
Ft  is  more  than  probable  that  the  leaders  of  the  revolu- 
tion had  something  to  do  in  persuading  them  to  choose 
this  place,  and  thereby  establish  themselves  on  neutral 
ground  under  the  French  flag.  All  that  is  certain  is, 
that  the  refugees  left  Tenos  in  a  body,  and  crossing  over 
the  narrow  strait  which  divides  the  two  islands,  took  up 
their  abode  on  Syra,  under  the  protection  of  the  banner 
of  France. 

Before  Greece  was  free,  the  town  of  Hermoupolis 
began  to  grow  on  the  cliffs  of  Syra,  holding,  like  Noah's 
ark,  those  that  were  saved  from  the  cruelty  of  the  Turks 
— suffering  Greeks  from  Chios,  Psara,  Crete,  Macedonia, 
Smyrna,  forty  thousand  in  all,  found  here  a  refuge. 

At  first  the  exiles  lived  in  a  miserable  state,  hav- 
ing huts  by  the  shore,  where  now  the  busy  quay  is, 
in  which  they  stored  their  merchandise  and  transacted 
their  business,  retiring  to  the  upper  town,  Ano  Syra  as 


SVRA,    THE  CAPITAL   OF  THE  CYCLADES.     31 1 

it  soon  was  called,  by  night,  to  sleep  in  churches, 
stables,  or  wherever  they  could  find  a  covering  for  their 
heads. 

Before  the  arrival  of  the  refugees,  in  June,  182 1, 
Demetrius  Hypselantes,  the  great  hero  of  the  revolt,  sent 
as  his  agent  to  the  Cyclades  one  Themeles  to  inspire  the 
islanders  with  the  spirit  which  reigned  on  the  mainland  ; 
but,  with  certain  brilliant  exceptions,  such  as  Psara, 
Hydra,  and  Spetzia,  the  islanders  were  weak-minded,  for 
the  insular  Greeks  had  for  centuries  had  so  easy  a  time 
under  Turkish  rule  that  they  did  not  care  to  endanger 
themselves  in  the  popular  cause ;  at  the  time  it  was 
universally  admitted  that  if  the  Chiotes  had  had  any 
pluck  in  them  they  might  have  avoided  the  massacre 
and  proclaimed  themselves  free.  Some  of  the  Cyclades 
at"  first  flatly  refused  to  join.  Santorin,  Andros,  Tenos, 
urged  by  the  Roman  Catholic  element  in  them,  preferred 
to  pay  double  taxes  to  both  the  Turkish  and  Greek 
fleets  to  declaring  themselves .  on  either  side  ;  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Syra,  advisedly  perhaps,  pointed  to  the 
French  banner  and  replied  that  they  were  neutral. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  these  neutral  islands 
were  looked  upon  with  suspicion  by  their  fighting  com- 
rades ;  but  when  we  learn  that  Syra  received  40,000 
refugees  two  years  later,  most  of  them  incapacitated 
physically  from  bearing  arms,  being  women,  children, 
halt  and  maimed,  we  cannot  blame  them  for  inactivity. 
One  of  the  colony,  writing  to  the  journal  of  Syra,  in 
1837,  gives  us  the  following  account  of  this  colonisation 
of  Syra  : — *  Forty  thousand  Greeks,  or  eight  thousand 
families,  not  being  able  to  bear  arms  through  physical 
incapacity,  inhabited  Tenos  ;  of  these  some  began  to 
collect  their  goods  together,  with  the  aid  of  the  ship 
"  Hermes."     But  the  absence  of  a  harbour  in  this  island, 


V2  THE  CYCLADES. 


the  pestilence  which  took  place  in  1823,  political  causes, 
and  the  unsuitable  position  of  the  island,  compelled  some 
of  them  to  seek  an  asylum  elsewhere — a  safer  and  more 
suitable  spot  for  commerce — and  for  this  they  chose 
Syra.  Its  broad  and  safe  harbour,  its  mercantile  position, 
the  protection  which  its  inhabitants  received  from  the 
French  Government  as  Western  Catholics,  moved  those 
remaining  in  Tenos  to  follow  the  footsteps  of  the  first, 
and  thus  day  by  day  they  collected  from  all  parts,  and 
were  compelled  to  build  a  new  city/ 

So  now  we  find  our  commercial  colony  founded  and 
flourishing  under  the  French  flag.  If  there  were  some 
hard  remarks  made  about  the  Syriotes  who  stayed  at 
home  and  practised  the  arts  of  peace  during  the  great 
national  struggle,  it  is  at  all  events  clear  that  the  leaders 
of  the  revolution  understood  the  position  taken  up  by 
them  ;  and  in  fact  the  neutrality  of  Syra  seems  to  have 
been  a  part  of  the  plan  of  the  provisional  administra- 
tion of  the  revolution,  as  many  Syriotes  afterwards  let 
out.  Many  of  them,  though  neutral,  belonged  to  the 
Friendly  Society  (77  (pikcKt)  sraipla),  a  secret  society  which 
was  the  backbone  of  Panhellenism,  and  to  Syra  the 
Generals  Miaouli  and  Mavrocordato  sent  their  valuables 
for  safety  during  the  struggle.  By  correspondence  which 
has  come  to  light  since,  it  is  evident  that  the  refugees  in 
Syra  were  not  at  all  unmindful  of  their  struggling  fellow- 
countrymen,  and  sent  them  frequent  monetary  assistance. 
For  example,  Andreas  Miaouli  wrote  from  the  ship 
*  Ceres,' on  November  15,  1823,  to  acknowledge  having 
received  6,000  grosia  from  Syra. 

All  this  time  a  town  was  growing  up  around  the 
harbour  and  along  the  flat  space  between  the  harbour 
and  the  hill  on  which  the  old  town  was  perched.  The 
first  two-storeyed  house  was  built  in  1825,  and  belonged 


SYR  A,   THE  CAPITAL   OF  THE  CYCLADES.     313 

to  the  first  demarch,  Petritzi  by  name,  and  it  was  con- 
sidered a  real  phenomenon  to  look  upon,  for.  the  island 
towns  never  indulge  in  two-storeyed  houses  as  a  rule, 
having  flat  roofs  and  ceilings,  many  of  reeds,  which  they 
cover  with  seaweed,  and  on  the  top  place  a  certain  kind 
of  clay  which  they  trample  down  and  then  roll  with 
marble  rollers.  After  a  rainfall  it  is  a  curious  sight  to 
see  the  inhabitants  running  about  on  their  roofs  to  press 
down  the  mud,  and  kicking  along  with  their  feet  the 
marble  roller.  But  Syra  has  long  since  abandoned  this 
style,  and  ever  since  Demarch  Petritzi  built  his  two- 
storeyed  house  in  1825  the  town  has  adopted  the 
Western  style,  and  for  all  the  world  looks  like  a  town 
of  France  or  Italy. 

It  was  in  this  year  that  Luke  Ralli  and  others,  fore- 
seeing a  future  of  greatness  for  the  infant  city,  thought 
it  was  time  to  give  her  a  name,  and  not  allow  her,  like 
all  the  other  islands  of  the  -^gean  Sea,  to  have  a  capital 
called  after  and  frequently  confounded  with  the  island  in 
which  it  was  situated.  So  they  met  together  and  called 
her  Hermoupolis,  the  city  of  Hermes,  for  was  not  Hermes 
the  protector  of  commerce  among  their  ancestors  ?  and 
did  they  not  owe  much  to  the  good  ship  *  Hermes,'  which 
had  collected  together  the  earlier  nucleus  of  their  trade  } 
Just  before  this  a  church  had  been  built  near  the  sea, 
the  Church  of  the  Transfiguration,  the  outer  court  of 
which  was  still  used  as  a  hospital  for  those  who  were 
obliged  to  live  in  tents  ;  and,  situated  as  it  was  amongst 
wretched  hovels,  it  was  a  perfect  beehive,  where  the 
inhabitants  could  swarm  and  sleep  if  they  wished.  In  the 
nave  of  this  church  the  magnates  of  the  refugees  held 
their  first  public  assemblies,  and  here  it  was  that  Luke 
Ralli  for  the  first  time  pronounced  the  name  of  the  town 
—  Hermoupolis. 


314  THE  CYCLADES. 


But  the  bulk  of  the  colonists  in  Syra  never  intended 
to  stay  there  if  the  war  terminated  favourably  for  Greek 
independence  ;  they  only  intended  to  make  of  this 
barren  rock  a  temporary  asylum,  as  the  Athenians  had 
once  made  of  Salamis :  so  when,  in  1829,  the  kingdom 
of  Greece  was  established,  there  were  many  projects 
afloat  for  the  re-colonisation  of  different  parts  of  Hellas. 
Perhaps  if  Chios  had  been  free  the  result  would  have 
been  different,  for  the  leading  part  of  the  refugees  were 
merchants  from  Chios,  and  Syra  might  again  have  sunk 
into  oblivion  ;  however,  as  the  Turks  still  held  their 
home,  the  Chiotes  elected  to  stay  in  Syra,  and  recognised 
Hermoupolis  in  Syra  as  the  abiding  centre  of  Greek 
commerce  for  the  future.  The  position  was  good,  being 
in  the  centre  of  the  ^gean  Sea,  in  the  highway  of  traffic 
to  and  from  the  East ;  the  harbour  was  good,  with  two 
islands  across  its  mouth  to  protect  it  from  the  south 
winds,  but  the  island  itself  is  wretched.  No  wonder  the 
Chiotes  sighed  for  their  lemon  and  orange  groves,  the 
Cretans  for  their  forests  and  olive  gardens ;  no  wonder 
they  were  anxious  to  get  away  from  those  brown  hill- 
sides, where  nothing  save  aromatic  herbs  would  grow, 
where  there  was  not  a  tree  to  shade  them  or  water  to 
drink  a  sufficiency  of.  It  is  curious  to  see  the  results 
of  reckless  cutting  down  of  trees  here  in  Greece.  The 
rains  wash  away  the  soil  from  the  mountains  and  make 
them  barren,  and  then  there  is  nothing  to  hold  the  rain, 
which  rushes  off  in  torrents  as  soon  as  it  has  fallen, 
and  thereby  creates  a  drought.  But  commerce  is  in  no 
way  dependent  on  land  attractions,  as  Venice  and  Hol- 
land can  testify,  so  the  Greek  refugees  who  elected  to 
stay  at  Syra  had  no  cause  to  regret  their  decision. 

At  first  they  suffered  terribly  from  pirates  in  the 
early  days  of  anarchy  after  the  establishment  of  the 


SVJ^A,   THE  CAPITAL   OF  THE  CYCLADES,     315 


kingdom.  Old  people  in  Syra  will  still  relate  to  you 
the  dread  these  early  colonists  had  of  one  Nestor  Phat- 
zole  of  Cephalonia,  how  he  seized  their  merchant  ships, 
levied  blackmail,  and  scoured  the  archipelago  ;  but  Eng- 
lish, French,  and  Austrian  ships  year  by  year  lessened 
the  number  of  these  marauders  ;  and  year  by  year,  with 
the  commerce  of  Western  Europe  passing  through  their 
hands,  the  Syriotes  grew  in  prosperity,  and  their  town 
of  Hermoupolis  sprang  up  with  the  rapidity  of  the  mush- 
room towns  of  the  western  hemisphere. 

It  was  just  ten  years  after  the  naming  of  the  town 
that  Ludwig  Ross  visited  Hermoupolis  in  his  journeys 
through  the  islands  of  the  ^gean  Sea,  and  he  speaks  with 
astonishment  of  the  growth  and  almost  magical  develop- 
ment of  this  merchants*  town. 

Knowing  the  history  of  Hermoupolis  during  the  last 
sixty  years,  we  issued  forth  from  our  hotel  with  our  in- 
terest keenly  excited  to  behold,  for  here  at  least  all 
around  us  was  the  work  of  modern  Hellas.  We  hear 
much  of  the  failure  of  Greece  to  carry  out  the  hopes  of 
the  revivers  of  the  nationality,  but  we  learn,  when  study- 
ing the  growth  of  Syra,  that,  given  a  fair  chance,  the 
Greek  of  to-day  will  always  come  to  the  front  in  the 
mercantile  world.  The  Powers  created  a  kingdom  out 
of  a  barren,  unproductive  country,  sparsely  inhabited, 
and  without  any  of  the  sinews  of  wealth  ;  they  expected 
this  country  to  produce  at  once  all  the  fine  qualities  for 
which  their  ancestors  had  been  celebrated,  and  were 
naturally  disappointed. 

We  might  as  well  take  Cornwall  and  Devonshire 
and  call  it  the  British  Empire,  as  consider  the  narrow 
limits  of  the  present  kingdom  in  any  way  representative 
of  the  Greek  nation.  The  most  prosperous,  the  most  in- 
tellectual  of  the  nationality  are  scattered  over  the  face 


3i6  THE  CYCLADES. 

of  the  globe,  in  all  the  great  commercial  centres  of  the 
world.  Here  at  Syra  we  learn  what  they  can  do  when 
the  chance  offers.  But  what  chance  did  the  Greek 
kingdom  ever  have  ?  The  government  naturally  fell 
into  the  hands  of  a  few  uneducated  men  who  were  re- 
turned  as  members  for  semi-barbarous  villages.'  As  of 
\  old,  every  Greek  is  a  politician,  and  for  want  of  a  clear 
-  head  to  guide  them  they  fell  to  squabbling  amongst 
themselves,  until  the  Greek  kingdom,  instead  of  answer- 
ing the  requirements  of  Panhellenism,  became  a  byword 
and  a  scorn.  Of  late  years  matters  have  improved  con- 
siderably, under  the  able  direction  of  M.  Tricoupis  ;  but 
a  journey  through  the  islands  and  the  outlying  parts  of 
even  this  little  kingdom  shows  how  rotten  the  whole 
concern  is.  But  Syra  is  quite  different  ;  if  all  the 
Greeks  were  like  those  of  Syra,  there  could  be  no  ques- 
tion as  to  who  should  rule  at  Constantinople. 

An  excellent  street,  the  street  of  Hermes,  branches 
away  from  the  quay,  and  leads  into  a  vast  square,  where 
in  the  evenings  the  inhabitants  promenade  to  listen  to 
the  band.  One  side  of  this  square  is  to  be  taken  up  by 
a  large  H6tel  de  Ville  ;  but  this  edifice  progresses  only 
slowly ;  the  town  authorities  are  careful,  and  only  do  a 
little  now  and  then  to  it,  when  they  have  a  balance  in 
hand.  Steep  tortuous  streets  lead  up  one  of  the  hills 
which  is  covered  by  the  new  town  ;  everything  is  white 
and  clean,  a  great  contrast  to  a  town  of  corresponding 
size  in  France  or  Italy  ;  the  drainage  is  excellent,  and 
not  a  smell  affronts  the  nostrils.  There  are  plenty  of 
churches  now — none  of  any  interest,  to  be  sure,  except 
that  of  the  Transfiguration,  where  the  assemblies  were 
held,  and  where  Luke  Ralli  stood  as  godfather  to  this 
infant  town,  now  grown  to  maturity. 

Of  course  Syra  is  now  the  central  point  of  insular 


SVRAy    THE  CAPITAL   OF  THE  CYCLADES.     317 

Greece ;  here  resides  the  nomarch  of  the  Cyclades,  who 
superintends  the  course  of  justice  in  the  eight  eparchies 
into  which  the  islands  are  divided  ;  the  eparchs,  in  their 
turn,  look  after  the  demarchs,  or  mayors,  of  the  various 
towns  and  villages.  In  Hermoupolis  is  the  jail  where 
insular  defaulters  are  confined  ;  the  law  courts  are  here  ; 
in  short,  Syra  is  the  modern  capital  of  the  Cyclades, 
whereas  in  the  middle  ages  Naxos  was  the  seat  of 
government  and  the  residence  of  the  Duke.  All  this  is 
due  to  the  refugees  and  their  commerce. 

I  went  to  the  university,  which,  after  that  of  Athens,  ^ 
is  the  most  reputed  in  Greece,  and  there  I  listened  to 
the  various  classes,  the  lessons  taking  for  me  a  curious 
and  decidedly  interesting  form.  The  pedagogues  were 
holding  forth  on  Herodotus,  Xenophon,  Plutarch,  &c. 
and  the  task  of  the  scholars  seemed  to  me  marvellously 
simple,  namely,  to  turn  the  ancient  into  modern  Greek, 
parse  the  words,  and  collect  the  historical  points.  I 
could  not  help  feeling  what  advantages  these  youngsters 
have  over  us,  if  a  classical  education  is  the  only  requi- 
site, when  a  boy  often  can  read  and  tell  the  contents  of 
Xenophon  with  greater  ease  than  an  Oxford  don. 

On  a  subsequent  occasion  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Syra,  Methodios  by  name,  a  man  of  great 
liberal  culture  and  enlightenmeht,  who  does  all  he  can 
to  combat  the  almost  heathenish  beliefs  of  the  Greek 
peasantry.  He  has  a  large  house,  and  wears  a  fine 
enamel,  set  in  diamonds,  and  was  very  friendly,  telling 
us  as  we  sipped  our  coffee  that  he  had  seen  our  party 
returning  on  muleback  from  an  expedition  into  the 
island,  and  added  that  we  had  called  to  his  mind 
Christ's  entry  into  Jerusalem.  This  is  a  marked  feature 
in  the  Greek  Church  ;  they  are  what  we  should  call  blas- 
phemous.    Curiously  enough,  a  biblical  comparison  had 


1/ 


\ 


318  THE  CYC  LADES, 

occurred  to  us  as  to  our  appearance  on  the  same  journey, 
namely,  that  we  resembled  closely  one  of  those  many 
old  pictures  of  a  flight  into  Egypt. 

There  is,  in  spite  of  the  newness  of  the  place,  a  great 
reverence  for  antiquity  in  Syra,  and  a  desire  to  keep  up 
ancient  associations  ;  a  newspaper  here  is  called  Phere- 
cydes.  At  first  I  did  not  recollect  that  that  eminent  phi- 
losopher had  been  a  native  of  Syra,  and  was  astonished 
at  the  name. 

Certainly  Pherecydes  was  a  man  to  be  proud  of,  for 
many  curious  suppositions  are  attached  to  his  name. 
He  was  born  598  B.C.,  and  was  master  of  Pythagoras. 
They  say  he  had  learnt  from  the  Phoenicians,  a  colony  / 
of  whom  Homer  speaks  of  on  this  island,  the  occult" 
sciences  of  the  East.  To  Pherecydes  .Cicero  attributes 
the  first  idea  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  ;  others 
assert  that  he  went  in  for  the  theory  of  transmigration. 
Altogether  there  is  a  halo  of  mystery  about  this  man,  so 
much  so  that  bold  theorists  assert  that  he  got  his  ideas 
from  the  secret  books  of  the  Phoenicians,  which  were  no 
less  than  the  books  of  Moses  ! 

The  story  of  his  horrible  death,  and  how  Pythagoras 
came  all  the  way  to  Delos  to  see  his  dying  master,  is 
told  us  by  Diodorus  Siculus  ;  and  curiously  enough  the 
Greek  peasants  of  Syra  have  still  a  tradition  that  a  great 
man  called  Pherecydes  lived  in  the  island,  and  was  con- 
sumed by  lice.  Doubtless  this  tradition  emboldened  the 
publisher  to  name  his  newspaper  Pherecydes. 

Some  of  these  traditions  are  very  curious  in  the  Cy- 
clades,  and  busy,  populous  Syra  is  not  without  its  own. 
It  is  a  common  belief  amongst  the  peasants  that  the 
ghosts  of  the  ancient  Greeks  come  once  a  year  from  all 
parts  of  Greece  to  worship  at  Delos,  and  as  they  pass 
through  Syra  they  are  purified  by  washing  ;  a  cliff  above 


SV/^A,   THE  CAPITAL  OF  THE  CYCLADES.     319 

HermoupoHs  is  still  called  AiJXt,  where  the  country  folks 
tell  you  this  ablution  takes  place,  and  even  to-day  they 
will  reverently  speak  of  the  *  god  in  Delos.' 

They  are  vaguely  aware,  too,  of  a  game  called  LiaKos, 
and  say  that  their  ancestors  used  two  large  stone  olive- 
presses,  which  stand  as  reminiscences  of  ancient  fertility 
in  Syra  outside  a  church,  as  quoits.  How  thoroughly 
Greek  this  is  to  believe  in  the  superhuman  strength 
of  your  ancestors ;  it  is  the  survival  of  the  idea  which 
generated  the  myths  of  Hercules. 

Passing  on  in  our  rambles,  we  came  across  the  theatre 
of  Apollo,  than  which  no  better  theatre  exists  in  modern  v 
Greece.  Even  Athens  cannot  boast  of  such.  Curiously 
enough  the  piece  advertised  for  that  evening  was  The 
Pirates.  I  could  not  help  thinking  how  short  a  time  it 
was  since  the  pirates  had  been  a  subject  for  more  serious 
thought  in  Syra. 

Beyond  the  theatre  and  the  church  is  the  west  end 
of  Syra,  where  stately  mansions  are  built  on  the  top  of 
a  cliff,  overlooking  the  sea.  These  houses  of  Hermou- 
poHs, like  those  of  Athens,  rejoice  in  a  superabundance 
of  marble.  There  are  very  few  islands  of  the  Cycladic 
group  which  do  not  produce  marble,  and  at  the  north 
end  of  Syra  there  is  abundance  of  it.  Each  balcony  is 
supported  by  marble  lions  or  griffins  ;  the  steps,  the 
facings  and  window-cases  of  all  the  houses  are  of  marble. 
A  new  road  leading  along  the  cliff  beyond  these  houses 
forms  the  fashionable  evening  promenade  for  the  Syriote 

ladies. 

Though,  perhaps,  the  rapid  increase  of  Syra  is  now 
cooling  down,  nevertheless  the  place  is  still  growing,  and 
the  small  space  of  waste  ground  between  the  old  town 
and  the  new  is  rapidly  giving  way  to  a  mass  of  houses 
and  factories ;  for  with  a  central  dep6t  for  the  Eastern 


320  THE  CYCLADES. 


Telegraph,  and  steamers  of  every  company  calling  here, 
Syra  cannot  be  expected  to  stand  still.  After  a  stroll 
through  the  factories  and  a  visit  to  the  centres  of  artisan 
life,  there  was  little  left  to  study  in  Hermoupolis  the 
New  ;  but  Syra  as  an  island,  as  we  have  seen,  had  a  his- 
tory long  before  its  days  of  commerce,  so  to  visit  the 
various  points  of  archaeological  lore  we  made  several 
expeditions  about  the  island. 

Alone  of  the  Cyclades,  Syra  rejoices  in  the  posses- 
sion of  roads,  horses  and  carriages.  Not  that  these 
roads  lead  you  very  far  as  yet,  and  only  one  may  be 
said  to  have  a  destination  ;  this  leads  you  to  the  harbour 
Delle  Grazie,  where  in  summer  time  the  Syriotes  go  to 
take  sea  baths,  and  here  are  the  remains  of  two  ancient 
cities,  from  which  we  can  argue  that  the  much  criticised 
Homer  was  not  so  far  wrong  when  he  tells  us  that  Syra 
had  two  cities,  *  Twain  are  the  cities,  and  an  equal  share 
in  all  things  is  to  either  portioned  well* — *  Od.'  xv. 

It  is  true  that  the  existence  of  a  third  city  is  proved 
by  the  ruins  which  have  been  found  whilst  building 
Hermoupolis.  One  inscription  tells  us  of  the  existence 
of  a  temple  of  I  sis,  where  now  stands  a  great  iravro- 
TTcoXslov  (general  shop),  but  it  is  highly  probable  from 
these  inscriptions  that  the  city,  on  the  ruins  of  which 
Hermoupolis  has  risen,  was  of  a  more  recent  date,  and 
that  the  inhabitants  of  Homer's  two  cities  migrated  at 
some  time  or  another  to  the  present  site,  for  in  Strabo's 
time  there  was  only  one  city,  which  had  in  it  a  temple 
of  Poseidon  in  the  grove.  Now  an  inscription  {JIoo'6lSovo9 
'Aa-<l>aX6iov)  has  been  found  at  Hermoupolis,  and  at  the 
ruins  of  the  city  near  Delle  Grazie  another  inscription 
has  been  found,  which  was  put  up  to  Miagnas,  a  priest 
of  Poseidon,  and  Amphitrite  in  the  temple  there.  It  is 
very  probable  that  the  inhabitants  deserted  this  spot 


SV/^A,    THE  CAPITAL   OF  THE  CYC  LADES.     321 

and  went  to  the  better  harbour,  for  the  bay  of  Delle 
Grazie  is  shallow,  and  exposed  to  the  western  winds. 
There  are  numerous  traces  of  walls  and  graveyards  at 
this  spot,  which  is  still  called  Poseidonia,  and  beyond,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  bay,  are  the  scanty  ruins  of  another 
town  still  called  Phoenichos.  Here  is  a  little  solitary 
church,  into  the  walls  of  which  bits  of  marble  have  been 
let,  and  the  flat  land  around  is  covered  with  bits  of 
broken  vases.  In  the  sea,  too,  are  ruins  of  some  build- 
ings, called  now  the  little  monastery,  about  which  I  can 
make  no  suggestion.  It  struck  me  as  curious  how  this 
place  got  its  name.  Is  it  from  the  colony  of  Phoeni- 
cians here  which  Homer  mentions?  Ross  calls  it 
Grynche,  and  Pliny  mentions  a  place  in  Syra  called 
Eschatia  ;  but  Ross  and  Pliny  are  not  always  to  be 
trusted.  The  former  tells  us  that  the  silpressum  used  in 
dyes  came  from  Syra,  whereas  it  comes  from  the  island 
of  Scyros,  or  Skyros,^  and  constant  confusion  in  various 
authors  has  occurred  between  these  two  names. 

All  around  the  bay  is  barren,  excepting  where,  here 
and  there,  like  an  oasis  in  the  desert,  the  gardens  of 
rich  Syriote  merchants  relieve  the  eye.  At  one  of  these 
houses  we  were  entertained  hospitably  by  Mr.  Tserlendi, 
and  shown  his  garden  and  vineyards.  On  the  way  to 
Delle  Grazie  we  saw  many  of  these  country  seats,  espe- 
cially at  Talanta,  where  money  has  had  a  veritable 
struggle  with  nature,  and  been  fairly  successful. 

It  is  further  presumptive  evidence  of  the  quondam 
fertility  of  Syra,  that  from  an  inscription  we  gather 
that  feasts  of  Dionysos  with  singing  contests  were  held 
here,  which  would  never  have  been  the  case  had  Syra 
produced  no  more  wine  than  it  does  now,  with  which  to 
honour  the  god.     In  fact,  the  existence  of  Bacchic  revelry 

*  An  island  of  the  northern  Sporades. 

Y 


^ 


22  THE  CYC  LADES. 


here  in  ancient  times  proves  that  they  had  an  ample 
vintage. 

One  afternoon  I  strolled  up  the  hill,  to  inspect  the 
town  of  '  Upper  Syra/  as  it  is  now  called,  where  the 
mediaeval  Roman  Catholic  settlement  still  exists  ;  here 
everything  is  old  world,  and  the  inhabitants  seem  utterly 
unconcerned  about  the  busy  life  in  the  lower  town.  The 
houses  are  like  steps,  one  above  the  other  ;  and  the  steep 
narrow  streets,  foul  with  refuse  and  tenanted  by  pigs, 
lead  up  spiral  fashion  to  the  convent  and  church  of  St. 
George,  which  crowns  the  hill.  From  the  terrace  in  front 
of  the  edifice  a  fine  view  is  obtained  over  the  sea,  dotted 
with  Cyclades  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  ;  to  the  right 
is  a  brown  stony  valley,  characteristic  of  Syra,  and  on 
the  brow  of  the  opposite  hill  a  newly-fledged  Greek  con- 
vent seems  as  if  it  looked  with  contempt  on  the  Roman 
Catholic  town,  as  much  as  to  say  that  its  reign  is  over. 
Between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Church  there  is  no 
kindly  feeling.  On  my  way  down  to  the  lower  town  I 
met  some  girls  who  had  strolled  upwards  to  take  the 
air.  They  asked  me  my  intention  on  seeing  me  enter  a 
Greek  church,  and  on  my  inquiring  if  they  were  Westerns 
or  Orthodox,  they  aflSrmed  so  eagerly  that  they  belonged 
to  the  latter  persuasion,  that  I  was  constrained  to  ques- 
tion them  further  on  their  knowledge  of  the  relation 
between  the  two  creeds. 

One  of  them,  who  said  she  was  a  niece  of  Canarios, 
one  of  the  great  heroes  of  the  war  of  independence,  re- 
gretted loudly  that  shortly  she  was  to  marry  a  rich 
Roman  Catholic  ;  her  principal  objection  being,  from 
what  I  could  gather,  a  current  belief  that  when  a 
Roman  Catholic  has  received  the  last  sacrament  and 
shows  symptoms  of  recovery,  the  priest  goes  back  and 
strangles  him  with  a  rope,  for  after  this  sacred  event  no 


SYRA,    THE  CAPITAL   OF  THE  CYCLADES,     323 

one  is  permitted  to  live.  She  was  a  young  lady  of  con- 
siderable sentiment  I  imagine,  for  she  carried  in  her 
hand  a  pretty  flower  which  grows  on  the  hills  under  the 
acanthus  bushes,  called  *  patience '  by  the  Greeks  (virofiov^), 
*  For  when  I  look  at  it,'  she  concluded,*  I  feel  strengthened 
to  bear  my  lot  patiently.' 

By  far  the  most  interesting  expedition  we  made  into 
the  remote  parts  of  Syra  was  a  weary  long  mile  ride 
over  the  mountains  to  a  spot  at  the  north-west  corner, 
where  perhaps  is  the  very  place  where  Hercules  was 
reported  to  have  conquered  the  north  wind.  The  goal 
of  our  ride  was  a  point  called  Grammata  Head,  from 
the  fact  that  it  is  covered  with  inscriptions.  A  wilder, 
bleaker  ride  I  never  had,  even  in  the  Cyclades.  On 
leaving  the  town  and  ascending  the  hill  of  Deli,  we  were 
as  out  of  the  world  as  if  no  busy  Hermoupolis  existed 
at  our  feet.  There  was  scarcely  a  mule  track  to  guide 
us,  and  the  rocks  and  stones  by  the  way  called  for  the 
exercise  of  all  the  agility  our  mules  could  display.  All 
the  way  we  never  tired  of  admiring  the  ever-varying 
views  over  island  and  sea.  Though  Syra  itself  might 
be  brown  and  arid,  with  occasional  streaks  of  red  from 
the  nature  of  the  soil,  yet  the  halo  of  hazy  blue  islands 
around  us,  the  sparkling  of  the  sea,  and  the  clearness  of 
the  air,  dispelled  all  feelings  of  gloom,  and  made  us  realise 
that  in  those  days  when  Syra  was  *  teeming  with  fer- 
tility '  it  must  have  been  a  paradise  upon  earth.  No 
vegetation  did  we  come  across^  any  where  save  aromatic 
scrub  over  the  hillside,  and  the,  ungainly  bulbous  squilla 
marina^  a  source  of  considerable  traffic  in  this  locality. 
It  was  the  ist  of  December,  and  the  sun  was  very  hot. 
What  must  this  shadeless  place  be  in  the  dog-days } 

We  saw  hardly  any  signs  of  habitation  on  our  way 
until  we  came  to   a  low   whitewashed  cottage,  where 

Y  2 


324  THE  CYCLADES. 


lives,  high  up  on  the  mountain-top,  a  tottering  old  man 
ninety-five  years  of  age.  He  looks  after  a  small  garden, 
and  whenever  he  wants  anything  he  walks  into  Her- 
moupolis  to  do  his  shopping.  Our  muleteer  called  him 
out,  and  he  came  to  welcome  us  :  he  was  full  of  stories 
about  the  wonderful  changes  he  had  seen  during  his 
long,  eventful  life ;  how  he  had  fought  for  his  country's 
liberties  ;  how  he  had  assisted  in  building  the  first  house 
for  the  refugees  down  by  the  harbour.  When  we  left 
him,  I  asked  our  muleteer  if  people  frequently  lived  to 
be  so  old  at  Syra,  *  Yes/  was  the  reply,  *  an  old  woman 
died  at  one  hundred  and  thirty  only  a  short  while 
ago  ;  in  former  years  people  lived  so  long  that  the  aged 
had  to  be  thrown  down  a  mountain  cliff  which  is  still 
called  Geronsi  (yipcoi/y  This  tradition  of  longevity  in 
Syra  is  curious,  and  more  especially  so  in  connection 
with  the  slaughter  of  the  aged.  On  the  neighbouring 
island  of  Keos  it  is  well  known  that  the  old  and  useless 
members  of  society  were  obliged  to  swallow  hemlock 
when  a  certain  age  was  reached.  The  Abb^  della  Rocca, 
one  of  the  Roman  Catholic  brethren  in  Syra,  writing 
a  century  ago,  tells  us  of  the  same  tradition  existing 
then  about  the  great  age  and  general  healthiness  of  the 
Syriotes.     Homer  gives  us  the  following  testimony — 

There  in  the  city,  void  of  pain  and  fears, 
They  dwell,  and  ever  as  they  wax  in  years 
Apollo  coming  with  his  silvery  bow 
Aims  with  his  sister  the  light-feathered  spears 
Against  them,  and  the  sweet  life  fades  like  snow. 

We  rode  on  for  some  time  after  bidding  adieu  to  our 
old  man,  and  then  our  muleteers  manifested  a  doubt  as 
to  the  way.  Luckily  we  came  across  two  herdsmen  who 
volunteered  to  guide  us  ;  they  refreshed  us  with  dried 
figs  and  water,  and  were  a  pleasant  addition  to  our  party. 


SV/^A,    THE   CAPITAL   OF   THE   CYCLADES.     325 

All  here  was  stillness  and  solitude  save  for  the  bleat- 
ing of  goats  and  the  tinkling  of  their  bells  ;  goat-bells 
interest  one  in  Greece,  they  tend  to  show  how  conser- 
vative the  Greeks  are  in  preserving  the  customs  of  an- 
tiquity. A  goat's  bell  of  to-day  is  of  exactly  the  same 
shape  and  pattern  as  those  the  victims  for  sacrifice  used  to 
wear  in  ancient  days.  Turkish  goat-bells  and  Albanian 
goat-bells  are  quite  different  ;  the  Greeks  still  keep  to 
their  own  old  style.  We  passed  close  to  a  cave,  re- 
minding one  of  the  habitation  of  a  Cyclops,  where  2,000 
sheep  and  goats  are  kept  at  night,  which  wander  over 
the  mountain-side  by  day  and  gnaw  the  aromatic 
^rub^ 

The  herdsmen  were  much  quainter  and  more  enter- 
taining than  our  city-born  muleteers.  They  had  not 
deserted  the  ancient  simplicity  of  accent  and  phraseo- 
logy which  Syra  presumably  possessed  in  common  with 
the  other  islands  of  the  ^gean  before  she  was  converted 
into  a  centre  of  commerce.  They  were  at  first  hard  to 
understand,  and  made  use  of  words  which  are  strange 
to  the  modern  tongue.  The  frog  of  a  mule's  foot,  for 
example,  they  called  the  *  swallow  '  (^eXtSoi^a),  the  word 
used  in  ancient  times  for  the  hollow  of  a  horse's  foot, 
because  it  was  forked  like  a  swallow's  tail.  Further- 
more, ^evyXi]  is  not  the  usual  word  for  the  yoke  of  an 
ox  in  other  parts  of  modern  Greece,  and  fiepovTravx/ 
for  *  birds '  is  excessively  curious,  a  word  anciently 
used  to  denote  being  gifted  with  the  power  of  articula- 
tion. It  is  in  pastoral  life  that  words  still  linger  which 
are  forgotten  in  aught  but  the  pages  of  Liddell  and 
Scott. 

After  a  ride  of  four  hours  we  came  to  our  destination, 
a  long  strip  of  marble  which  runs  into  the  sea, like  a 
bird's  beak,  and  shelters  a  little  bay  from  the  fury  df.the 


326  THE  CYCLADES. 


north  wind  ;  it  is  almost  at  the  extreme  northern  point 
of  the  island,  and  was  in  ages  long  gone  by  a  favourite 
resort  of  mariners  during  stormy  weather.  This  tongue 
of  marble  is  in  three  places  covered  with  very  neatly 
cut  inscriptions  placed  on  flat  spaces  of  marble  which 
slope  down  to  the  water^s  edge.  Some  of  them  are  very 
old,  but  most  date  from  the  Roman  and  Byzantine 
epochs;  for  the  most  part  they  are  prayers  for  good 
voyages,  and  thanksgivings  for  safety  made  by  those 
anchoring  in  this  little  bay  in  time  of  tempest,  both  for 
themselves  and  their  friends.  These  writings  on  rocks 
are  found  in  many  parts  of  Greece ;  in  Santorin  or  Mesa 
Boun6  I  saw  lots  of  them,  and  likewise  I  hear  they  are 
common  on  the  mainland.  Those  at  Syra  are  interest- 
ing from  their  diversity. 

Taking  the  pagan  ones  first,  we  find  most  of  them 
to  be  simply  names..  Mithres  of  Sardis  is  the  only  one 
which  conveyed  anything  to  our  minds,  for  Mithres  is 
a  name  found  on  Sardian  coins.  Again  we  have  the 
names  of  those  who  used  this  tongue  of  land  as  a  point 
for  obsei'vation  (S/cott^  tov  ^AOrjvo^Lov  rod  vavKKrjpov)^ 
and  various  others,  reminding  us  of  the  passage  in 
Lucian  which  says,  Tt  is  necessary  first  before  sailing  to 
go  to  some  point  to  observe  if  the  wind  is  favourable.' 
Then  again  we  have  epigraphs  in  memory  of  friends, 
perhaps  those  who  had  been  lost  at  sea  ;  prayers  for 
good  voyages  for  the  writers  and  their  friends  ;  thanks 
for  preservation  from  shipwreck,  principally  to  Asclepius ; 
for  example,  ^  We  in  the  Milesian  ship,  thank  Asclepius  ;* 
and  lastly,  farewells  to  friends. 

Many  of  these  epigraphs  refer  to  a  temple  of  Serapis, 
which  must  have  stood  on  this  point,  though  all  traces 
of  it  have  been  obliterated.  Doubtless  here  many  a 
beg^oJnb  has  been  offered  to  propitiate  this  god,  that 


SYRA,   THE  CAPITAL   OF  THE  CYCLADES.     327 

he  might  send  a  favourable  wind.  Our  herdsmen  told 
us  that  quantities  of  coins  were  dug  up  here,  and  forth- 
with proceeded  to  dig.  In  a  few  minutes  they  produced 
some  small  defaced  copper  coins  of  no  value,  which  they 
gave  us.  We  next  turned  to  consider  the  Christian 
writings,  which  are  more  minute  in  their  information 
about  men  and  ships,  and  are  written  in  debased  Roman 
characters,  like  those  in  use  in  the  Byzantine  school, 
and  such  as  we  see  in  use  on  the  outside  of  Byzantine 
churches.  Most  of  them  begin  with  *  Lord  help  us  ! 
Lord  save  us ! '  &c.,  and  then  give  the  name  of  the  sup- 
plicant, his  father's  name,  his  country,  sometimes  that 
of  his  ship,  and  occasionally,  though  rarely,  they  men- 
tion the  month  and  year.  There  are  about  100  of  these, 
affording  a  curious  collection  of  names,  occupations, 
and  countries  ;  sailors,  captains,  one  novitiate,  deacons, 
a  soldier,  a  centarch.  Commander  Stephen,  chiliarch  of 
Asia  with  his  aurarii,  fellow-citizens,  &c.,  showing  what 
a  popular  place  of  resort  once  was  Gram mata  Bay,  now 
lost  almost  to  the  world,  for  hardly  anyone  in  Syra  has 
heard  of  it,  and  if  he  had  heard  of  it  would  never  think 
of  riding  four  hours  to  see  such  a  sight.  After  a  hurried 
lunch  among  the  epigrams,  we  started  on  our  weary 
way  back  across  the  mountains,  returning,  as  our  herds- 
men affirmed,  by  a  somewhat  shorter  way  close  to  a 
church  called  Syringa,  where  is  a  fountain  of  healing 
water  which  is  bottled  and  sent  abroad.  A  popular 
distich  of  Syra,  which  our  companions  sang,  tells  us 
that  for  health  all  that  is  required  is  *  some  water  from 
Syringa,  grapes  from  Chryse,  and  a  sprig  of  basil  from 
Cyparyssa.'  Chryse  and  Talanta  certainly  seem  at 
present  to  be  the  only  places  on  the  island  where  grapes 
will  grow,  and  this  with  difficulty.  Doubtless  this  distich 
is  of  a  not  very  modern  date,  and  may  refer  to  the 


328  THE  CYC  LADES, 


ancient  fertility.  As  for  the  basil  from  Cyparyssa,  I 
never  saw  any  ;  but  I  have  frequently  realised  how  much 
prized  the  basil  is  in  Greece  for  its  mystic  properties. 
The  herb  which  they  say  grew  on  Christ's  grave  is 
almost  worshipped  in  the  Eastern  Church.  On  St.  Basil's 
Day  women  take  sprigs  of  this  plant  to  be  blessed  in 
church.  On  returning  home  they  cast  some  on  the  floor 
of  the  house,  to  secure  luck  for  the  ensuing  year.  They 
eat  a  little  with  their  household,  and  no  sickness,  they 
maintain,  will  attack  them  for  a  year.  Another  bit  they 
put  into  their  cupboard,  and  firmly  believe  that  their 
embroideries  and  silken  raiment  will  be  free  from  the 
visitation  of  rats,  mice,  and  moths  for  the  same  period. 

Busy,  populous  Hermoupolis  seemed  horribly  worldly 
after  this  wild  ride.  During  our  rambles  in  the  Cyclades 
we  visited  it  many  times,  and  were  always  glad  to  get 
out  of  it,  savouring  as  it  did  too  much  of  this  busy 
age. 


329 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

NAXOS. 

I,  An  Historical  Sketch, 

From  many  points  of  view  Naxos  may  be  considered 
as  the  most  important  of  the  Cyclades.  It  is  the  largest, 
it  is  the  most  beautiful-  quite  equal  to  Corfu  and  the 
other  Ionian  islands  as  far  as  this  is  concerned  ;  it  is  by 
far  the  most  fertile  ;  it  has  a  definite  mediaeval  history  ; 
and  up  in  its  lofty  mountains  it  contains  some  of  the 
most  primitive  inhabitants  of  modern  Hellas,  half-robbers, 
almost  heathens  in  their  beliefs. 

The  town  life  of  Naxos  is  utterly  different  from  the 
mountain  life.  Half  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  are 
Roman  Catholics,  relics  of  the  time  when  Naxos  was  the 
centre  of  an  island  duchy  under  the  protection  of  Venice, 
and  a  bulwark  against  Islamism  ;  but  on  the  benighted 
peasantry  of  the  mountains  the  passing  waves  of  Latins 
and  Turks  have  not  had  the  remotest  influence.  In  many 
respects  it  would  appear  that  the  Greek  influence  on 
Venice  was  considerably  greater  than  the  Venetian  influ- 
ence on  Greece.  All  the  names  of  officers  in  the  Venetian 
republic  were  borrowed  from  the  Byzantine  Empire,  the 
syndic,  the  signori  di  notte  {yvKriizapyoC)^  the  castigatore 
or  registrar  {KaTa<TTL'x(OTrjSf)y  and  lots  of  others ;  the 
names  of  boats,  the  sandolo  {<ravhaKiov)y  so  called  from 


330  THE  CYC  LADES, 


its  likeness  to  a  shoe,  the  scafo,  the  ippagogo,  the  gon- 
dola, and  others ;  and  when  in  1049  a  Venetian  doge 
married  a  Greek  of  the  house  of  Ducas,  she  brought 
with  her  all  the  Byzantine  refinements,  amongst  others 
the  use  of  the  fork,  which  in  the  Venetian  dialect  is  still 
called  a  '  piron,'  from  the  Greek  {ttti^ovvC),  instead  of 
forchetta. 

To-day  Naxos  is  entirely  eclipsed  by  Syra,  the  capital 
of  the  Cyclades.  Santorin  is  a  far  more  flourishing  centre 
of  trade ;  the  fertility  of  the  soil  has  been  the  bane  of  the 
Naxiotes,  and  has  made  them  the  idlest  vagabonds  in 
the  Cyclades. 

Before  landing  at  Naxia,  as  they  call  the  capital,  let 
us  take  a  hurried  glance  at  the  history  of  the  Latin 
dukes  ;  it  will  enable  us  better  to  understand  the  people 
we  are  going  to  sojourn  amongst.  Our  authorities  for 
the  history  of  the  two  lines  of  sovereigns  who  occupied 
the  duchy  of  Naxos  for  300  years  are  meagre,  but  they 
are  twofold.  They  are  from  the  compilations  of  a  Jesuit 
and  a  German,  the  Abbe  Sauger  and  Von  Hopf.  The 
latter  styles  the  compilation  of  the  former  *  a  romance 
full  of  Jesuitical  legends,  and  untrustworthy,*  and  to 
prove  this  statement  he  treats  us  to  the  most  complicated 
disquisition  on  intermarriages,  feuds,  and  contested  suc- 
cessions which  it  ever  was  the  lot  of  any  historical 
student  to  wade  through  ;  but  in  broad  lines  our  autho- 
rities agree,  and  surely  the  broad  lines  are  all  that  the 
most  ambitious  could  care  to  know  about  the  dukes 
of  Naxos  and  their  appanages,  the  lords  of  Melos,  the 
archons  of  Santorin,  the  proveditori  of  Tenos,  who  inter- 
married, squabbled,  and  fell,  in  the  course  of  events,  into 
the  gulf  of  Islamism. 

Everything  tends  to  prove,  especially  the  rancour  of 
the  Jesuit,  that  during  this  period  there  was  no  love  lost 


NAXOS.  331 


between  Greek  and  Latin,  and  that  the  Latins  only 
carried  their  influence  to  the  coast  towns,  and  that  when 
the  Latin  power  was  over  the  orthodox  religion  at  once 
re-established  its  power.  The  whole  of  this  influence 
was  due  in  the  first  instance  to  the  Latin  conquest  of 
Constantinople,  when  Venice  found  herself  the  mistress 
of  millions  of  subjects  with  whom  she  had  not  the 
slightest  ideaC  what  to  do.  Consequently  the  Queen  of 
the  Adriatic  accorded  to  her  citizens  the  power  to  con- 
quer for  themselves  any  islands  they  had  a  fancy  for,  on 
condition  that  they  would  hold  them  as  fiefs  of  the  Re- 
public. This  was  a  new  opening  to  ambition,  a  stimulus 
to  privateering  life  on  a  large  scale,  giving  birth  to  such 
men  as  after  centuries  saw  in  the  persons  of  Sir  Francis 
Drake  or  Raleigh. 

One  of  these  privateers  was  called  Marco  Sanudo,  of 
a  rich  and  noble  house,  whose  ambition  soared  high,  for 
he  wished  to  become  lord  of  Crete ;  but  being  unable  to 
do  this,  he  laid  siege  to  Naxos,  where  the  pusillanimous 
Greeks  soon  gave  way,  and  this  he  made  the  head- 
quarters of  his  new  principality  ;  he  built  a  strong  castle 
with  twelve  towers  thereon,  and  established  a  dynasty, 
which  was  recognised  by  the  German  emperor,  Henry  IV., 
as  the  duchy  of  the  -<Egean  Sea.  Olher  Venetian 
nobles  and  merchants,  the  Ghisi,  the  Giustiniani,  &c. 
followed  this  example,  and  hazarded  their  riches  in  their 
lust  for  principalities,  however  small :  so  Greece,  as  well 
on  the  mainland  as  amongst  the  islands,  was  covered 
with  Latin  settlers. 

The  pet  object  of  the  Sanudo  family  was  to  reign 
in  Crete,  and  though  they  gathered  to  themselves  the 
islands  around  Naxos,  yet  they  never  lost  sight  of  the 
main  object  of  their  ambition. 

The   third   duke,  another  Marco,  tried    to   conquer 


32  THE  CYCLADES. 


Crete  with  no  better  success.  During  his  reign  the 
Ahh6  Sauger  gives  us  a  side  glance  at  the  feeling  which 
existed  between  Greeks  and  Latins.  *  Disturbances/  he 
says,  'took  place,  owing  to  the  idolatry  of  the  inhabit- 
ants, who  set  up  an  altar  to  one  called  St  Pachys,  and 
mothers  made  their  children  pass  through  a  hole,  and 
thought  they  would  grow  fat  {ira')(ys)  by  this.'  Now 
this  is  just  the  sort  of  thing  they  still  do,  and  even 
worse,  as  we  saw  at  Melos,*  so  I  am  inclined  to  believe 
what  Abbd  Sauger  tells  us,  and  from  this  we  can  infer 
that  religious  rancour  kept  the  Greeks  and  Latins  from 
amalgamating. 

The  early  dukes  of  the  house  of  Sanudo  made  Naxos 
and  the  other  subject  isles  so  strong  that  the  emperors  of 
the  Paleologus  line  failed  to  recover  the  islands,  though 
in  1272  the  Greek  fleet  managed  very  nearly  to  win  them 
back,  and  would  have  done  so  had  not  a  Venetian  general, 
who  lies  buried  at  Venice  with  the  following  epitaph, 
*  Terror  GrcBcorum  jacet  hic^  come  to  the  assistance  of  the 
duke.  And  in  the  days  of  these  earlier  dukes  sprang  up 
all  those  fortress  towns,  one  or  two  of  which  we  visited 
in  every  island  ;  by  degrees  even  the  fealty  due  to  the 
mother  country  began  to  be  laughed  at,  until  rumours  of 
Turkish  encroachments  began  to  alarm  Europe,  and  the 
dukes  of  the  house  of  Sanudo  had  to  turn  crusaders 
against  their  will. 

The  eighth  duke  of  Naxos,  the  last  of  the  Sanudo 
line,  was  nicknamed  Spezzabunda,  and  his  renown  as  a 
valiant  chief  struck  terror  into  the  Turks,  who  no  longer 
ventured  to  leave  their  safe  harbours  in  Asia  Minor. 
There  is  a  rhyming  legend  still  sung  in  Naxos,  which 
tells  us  how  he  ended  his  days  in  1345,  surrounded 
by  ten  Turkish  galleys,  and  seeing  his  own  sinking,  he 

*  Vide  p.  64. 


NAXOS.  333 


cast  himself  fearlessly  amongst  them  and  wrought  terrible 
carnage  before  he  was  killed.  Marino  Sanudo  of  Venice, 
in  his  notes,  gives  us  an  account  of  this  kinsman  of  his, 
and  says  he  was  one  of  the  most  courageous  and  intrepid 
heroes  of  his  day. 

Then  the  children  of  two  daughters  of  the  house  of 
Sanudo,  the  Crispi  and  the  Carcere,  fought  for  the  suc- 
cession ;  the  former  killed  the  latter  by  treachery  and 
established  a  long  line  of  dukes,  the  descendants  of 
whom,  bearing  the  name  and  arms,  two  upright  swords 
between  two  lozenges,  still  live  in  Paros. 

The  history  of  the  Crispi  dukes  of  Naxos  is  a 
wretched  one.  The  iEgean  Sea  was  a  perfect  hotbed  of 
contention :  the  archons  of  Andros  carried  on  a  private 
war  with  the  archons  of  Santorin,  the  dukes  of  Naxos 
carried  on  a  war  with  the  Turks  on  the  one  hand  and 
their  great  rivals  the  Ghisi,  lords  of  Tenos,  Mykonos, 
Keos,  and  Seriphos,  on  the  other.  Venice  interfered  ; 
she  sent  proveditori  to  some  islands,  rectors  to  others, 
whilst  some  she  let  out  to  the  highest  bidder,  so  that 
the  resources  of  the  island  were  drained  to  the  last  dregs. 
No  wonder  the  Cyclades  suffered  terribly  under  the 
Latin  rule,  far  worse  than  ever  they  did  in  after  years 
under  the  Turks. 

Every  year  the  Turks  grew  nearer,  and  Christian 
disasters  crowded  one  on  the  other.  We  read  of  Francis 
Crispi,  the  nineteenth  duke,  entering  upon  terms  with 
the  Turks  in  1504  with  the  full  sanction  of  Venice.  His 
son  John,  the  twentieth  duke,  gave  up  the  keys  of 
Naxos  and  much  money  to  Barbarossa,  who  sacked  his 
castle,  but  left  him  in  possession  of  his  duchy  on  his 
promising  to  pay  a  tribute.  Poor  duke  John  was  so 
humbled  at  this  that  he  wrote  an  apologetic  letter  to 
Pope  Paul  III.  and  the  Christian  princes,  saying, — 


334  THE   CYCLADES, 


*  I  have  covenanted  to  pay  yearly  S,ooo  gold  pieces, 
and  even  this,  in  the  eyes  of  my  burghers,  is  too  large  a 
sum  for  the  poor  duke  of  a  mean  principality,  yet  I  shall 
conscientiously  pay  it/ 

Under  James  Crispi,  the  twenty-first  and  last  duke 
of  Naxos,  the  duchy  was  in  a  woeful  state  ;  he  had  no 
money  and  no  ships,  his  subjects  refused  to  pay  taxes  ; 
he  was  himself  a  good-for-nothing  fellow,  who  made  of 
Naxos  what  it  was  in  ancient  times — nothing  but  a 
temple  of  Dionysos,  drinking  and  gambling  with  his 
Venetian  courtiers.  So  the  good  people  of  Naxos 
resolved  to  stand  this  no  longer,  and  sent  secret  envoys 
to  the  Porte,  volunteering  to  give  themselves  up,  reserving 
one  or  two  rights  for  themselves,  such  as  having  the 
power  of  ringing  church  bells  and  of  repairing  their 
sacred  edifices. 

James  Crispi  heard  of  this  too  late  ;  his  envoys  were 
put  in  prison  by  Selim  II.,  and  so  was  he,  and  not  released 
for  some  years,  when  he  retired  to  Venice,  and  was  re- 
ceived with  ovations  and  given  a  pension,  and  with  him 
the  duchy  of  Naxos  ceased  to  exist. 

The  Sultan  Selim  II.  then  made  a  present  of  the 
revenues  of  the  duchy  to  a  Jew,  whose  name  has  been 
handed  down  to  us  as  Joseph  Nacy,  or  Nassi,  or  di  Nasi, 
probably  of  Naxos.  He  was  court  Jew  to  the  Porte, 
Selim's  favourite,  and  known  by  the  name  of  *  the  rich  ' 
or  *  the  great '  Jew.  He  was  a  creditor  of  the  King  of 
France,  he  had  ships  of  his  own  all  over  the  Mediterra- 
nean, and  was  in  the  same  position  as  the  Fuggers  of 
Augsburg  were  to  Charles  V.,  or  the  Rothschilds  of  this 
century. 

It  may  be  imagined  that  the  Naxiotes  were  aghast 
when  they  heard  that  they  were  to  be  ruled  by  a  Jew,  for 
a  Greek  hates  a  Jew  more  than  he  can  express,  and  they 


.1 


NAXOS.  335 


repented  of  having  deposed  the  Crispi  and  longed  for 
them  back.  Wisely  the  great  Jew  Joseph  did  not  venture 
to  Naxos,  but  sent  thither  a  Spaniard,  Francis  Coronelli, 
as  his  agent.  Coronelli  was  a  worthy  man,  no  duke 
wa^s  ever  beloved  as  he  was,  and  by  wise  measures 
he  sought  to  rectify  the  errors  of  the  Duke  James. 
Coronelli's  son  married  a  niece  of  the  last  Crispi  and  took 
her  name,  and  it  is  through  this  line  that  the  Crispi,  who 
now  own  so  much  land  in  Paros,  are  descended,  the  last 
relics  of  a  bygone  dynasty. 

When  the  great  Jew  died  the  Sultan  took  back  the 
fief  he  had  given,  and  henceforward  ruled  the  Cyclades 
through  his  agas  and  dragomans.  Only  once  again,  in 
165 1,  when  the  Venetians  gained  a  great  naval  battle  off 
Paros  under  a  Mocenigo,  was  there  ever  any  prospect 
of  the  Naxiote  duchy  being  revived. 

After  the  extinction  of  the  Latin  line,  the  Latin 
nobles,  however,  continued  to  occupy  the  highest  posi- 
tion in  the  islands  ;  most  of  the  fertile  land  belonged  to 
them  ;  even  to  this  day  they  still  bear  the  title  oibaronakki 
(little  barons),  the  old  coats-of-arms  are  over  the  doors, 
but  they  have  always  been  detested  by  the  Greeks,  and 
now  that  the  Greek  element  is  dominant  they  are  fast 
decaying.  Tournefort,  in  1700,  describes  their  animosity 
thus  nafvely,  *  If  a  Latin  stirs  the  Greeks  tell  the  kadi  of 
it,  and  if  a  Greek  opens  his  mouth  the  kadi  knows  what 
he  has  said  before  he  shuts  it,'  and  the  Latins  had  to 
get  a  special  dispensation  from  Rome  for  marrying  their 
cousins,  to  avoid  intermarrying  with  the  Greeks,  so  great 
was  the  hatred  of  their  rivals. 

The  Roman  Catholics  still  live  in  the  upper  town  of 
Naxos,around  the  ruins  of  the  old  castle.  The  Le  Lasticqs, 
the  Barozzi,  the  Frankopouli  have  most  of  them  fine 
houses,  with  the  remains  of  Venetian  greatness  about 


336  THE  CYCLADES, 


them,  but  they  are  all  wretchedly  poor.  In  the  war  of 
independence  they  sided  with  the  Turks,  and  conse- 
quently they  are  now  suffering  for  their  folly  ;  inch  by 
inch  the  land  is  passing  out  of  their  hands  into  those  of 
the  Greeks. 

2.   The  Town  of  Naxia, 

It  was  the  intention  of  spending  Christmas,  and 
taking  a  good  rest,  that  caused  us  to  make  for  Naxos. 
Somehow  or  another  we  promised  ourselves  greater 
comforts  there  than  elsewhere  ;  the  name  and  the  know- 
ledge of  what  it  once  had  been  probably  gave  cause 
to  this  hope,  which  was  doomed  to  disappointment. 
Nowhere  in  the  Cyclades  had  we  greater  difficulty  in  get- 
ting a  suitable  lodging  than  in  Naxia ;  we  were  shown 
to  what  they  called  an  inn,  a  large  room  without  glass  in 
the  windows,  and  no  furniture  except  wooden  tressels 
for  beds,  evidently  the  abode  of  sailors  when  forced  by 
bad  luck  to  wait  in  Naxos.  Then  we  went  to  the 
demarch,  who  received  us  courteously,  but  with  small 
hope  of  success.  Eventually  we  were  deposited  in  a  house 
by  the  sea,  belonging  to  the  agent  of  the  Greek  steamer, 
and  as  long  as  the  weather  was  fine  it  was  a  charming 
abode.  We  had  the  use  of  two  rooms  •.  a  sitting-room 
with  a  balcony  overlooking  the  sea  and  a  lapageria 
trained  over  the  walls  inside  as  if  for  our  special  Christ- 
mas decoration,  and  a  bedroom,  the  only  drawback  to 
which  was  that  it  was  entered  by  a  trap-door  at  moments 
when  visitors  were  least  welcome. 

Our  host  had  been  a  sea-captain,  and  had  two 
pretty  daughters,  who  waited  upon  us,  cooked  for  us, 
and  sang  nautical  songs  to  us  in  the  evening,  and  the 
first  day  after  our  arrival,  Christmas  Eve,  on  which  the 


NAXOS,  zyi 


sun  shone  as  hot  as  in  July  at  home,  wc  were  content- 
ment itself.  It  was  too  hot  to  walk,  so  we  got  a  boat, 
and  rowed  to  the  little  island  on  which  stands  all  that  is 
left  of  what  tradition  calls  the  temple  of  Dionysos  :  the 
people  call  it  the  palace  of  the  king  of  Naxos,  and  the 
island  to  HaXarfc,  but  all  that  is  left  are  the  two  white 
marble  doorposts  and  the  lintel,  standing  up  high  and 
solitary  on  the  summit  of  the  little  green  island,  a  con- 
spicuous object  from  everywhere.  Formerly  this  island 
was  joined  to  the  mainland  by  a  pier,  large  blocks  of 
which  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  sea.  A  few  years  ago 
Dr.  Kallivoutzi  made  an  excavation  here,  not,  however, 
with  very  satisfactory  results,  except  that  the  form  of 
the  temple  and  several  of  the  drums  of  its  pillars  have 
been  laid  bare  ;  from  the  pier  there  evidently  were  steps 
leading  up  to  it,  and  it  had  doubtless  a  propylceum  facing 
the  mainland. 

On  Christmas  Eve  this  little  island  was  delicious, 
brilliantly  green  with  a  small  shamrock  and  a  primula 
all  over  it ;  a  real  emerald  isle  set  in  the  bluest  of  seas. 
We  determined  to  eat  our  Christmas  dinner  on  it  if  the 
morrow  was  as  fine,  for  the  view  over  Naxia  and  the  moun- 
tains was  enchanting.  Naxia  resembles  in  many  ways  an 
Italian  village  on  the  Riviera ;  there  is  the  Sanudo*s  castle 
crowning  the  height,  there  are  the  peaky  blue  mountains 
in  the  background  taking  every  possible  fantastic  shape, 
there  are  the  rows  of  aloes  and  the  rocky  coastline.  The 
harbour  is  small  and  wretched,  having  in  the  centre  of 
it  a  tiny  church,  three  yards  by  two,  built  on  a  rock,  and 
dedicated  to  the  Virgin  of  the  Harbour,  to  which  boats 
are  moored.  All  round  the  coast  there  is  not  a  decent 
harbour  in  Naxos,  and  though  the  island  is  rich  in  corn, 
wine,  emery,  and  marble,  yet  in  a  harbourless  mass  of, 
mountains  progress  is  impossible.   During  a  storm  whilst 

z 


338  THE  CYCLADES, 


we  were  there,  a  caique  anchored  in  the  harbour  about 
fifty  yards  from  the  shore,  and  freighted  with  coffee, 
sugar,  and  other  groceries,  ready  for  disembarkation,  was 
capsized  before  our  eyes  and  the  contents  lost. 

The  lower  part  of  the  town  is  all  Greek,  and  contains 
the  metropolitan  and  other  churches ;  here  every  house 
is  inhabited  by  Greeks,  for  it  is  only  up  on  the  hill, 
where  is  still  a  Capuchin  convent  close  to  the  fortress, 
that  the  Latins  live. 

As  we  sat  on  this  island  rock  we  could  not  help 
wondering  if  this  really  was  the  scene  of  the  old  worship  of 
Dionysos  at  Naxos  ;  even  now  there  are  many  traces  left 
in  Naxos  which  point  to  this  worship.  St  Dionysius, 
the  Christian  successor  of  the  ancient  wine  god,  is 
greatly  worshipped  here,  and  about  him  a  curious 
legend  *  is  still  told,  clearly  pointing  to  ancient  cult ;  it 
runs  as  follows.  St.  Dionysius  was  on  a  journey  from 
the  monastery  on  Mount  Olympos  to  Naxos  ;  as  he  sat 
down  to  rest  he  saw  a  pretty  plant,  which  he  desired  to 
take,  and  to  protect  it  from  being  withered  by  the  sun 
he  put  it  into  the  bone  of  a  bird.  He  went  on  and  was 
surprised  to  find  that  it  had  sprouted  before  his  next 
halt,  so  he  put  it,  bone  and  all,  into  the  bone  of  a  lion  ; 
again  the  same  phenomenon  occurred,  so  he  put  his 
treasure  into  the  leg  bone  of  an  ass.  On  reaching  Naxos 
he  found  the  plant  so  rooted  in  the  bones  that  he  planted 
them  all ;  and  from  this  up  came  a  vine,  with  the  fruit 
of  which  St.  Dionysius  made  the  first  wine.  When  he 
had  drunk  a  little  of  it  he  sang  like  a  bird,  when  he  had 
drunk  more  he  felt  as  strong  as  a  lion,  and  when  he  had 
drunk  too  much  he  became  as  foolish  as  an  ass.  The  gods 
of  old  have  been  turned  into  modern  saints,  sometimes 
even  regardless  of  sex,  as  we  shall  see  at  Keos,  where 

*  Von  Hahn's  Greek  Legends. 


NAXOS,  339 


the  male,  St.  Artemidos,  represents  the  female,  Artemis. 
Demeter,  in  the  present  order  of  things,  is  also  represented 
by  a  man,  St.  Demetrius,  who  in  certain  places  is  the 
special  protector  of  flocks,  herds,  and  husbandmen,  and  in 
this  capacity  is  called  *  of  the  dry  land '  (l^rspcavos),  as 
opposed  to  St.  Nicholas,  the  saint  of  the  sea. 

Place  names  in  Naxos  still  recall  the  old  Bacchic  wor- 
ship. One  of  the  loftiest  mountains  of  the  island  is  called 
Mount  Koronon,  reminding  us  of  the  nymph  Koronis  and 
the  infancy  of  Dionysos.  Just  over  the  town  is  a  fountain 
called  by  the  natives  the  tomb  or  baths  of  Ariadne  : 
here  in  1 821  an  old  man  told  me  that  the  Turkish  dra- 
goman had  made  extensive  excavations  and  took  with 
him  quantities  of  inscriptions  to  Constantinople,  leaving 
only  one  behind  him,  which  forms  now  the  step  of  a 
house,  and  which  tells  us  that  it  was  once  a  tablet  in  the 
Prytaneum  of  Naxos. 

That  afternoon,  on  returning  from  the  island  rock,  we 

saw  the  weekly  steamer  arrive  in  glorious,  calm  evening 

light.     This  event  is  a  great  excitement  for  the  Naxiotes, 

and  the  names  of  happy  recipients  of  letters  are  publicly 

called  out ;   so  we  retired  to  rest  on   Christmas   Eve, 

little  dreaming  what  a  store  of  storm  and  rain  was  being 

prepared   for   u*s  by  Jupiter  the  Rainy.     For  nearly  a 

week  Naxos  and  her  mountains  formed  the  centre  of  a 

sort  of  cyclone  ;  torrents  would  fall  for  hours,  and  then 

a  gleam  of  sunshine  lead  us  to  hope  that  it  was  past, 

but  it  returned  again  with  equal  vigour,  going  round 

and  round  the  lofty  mountains.    In  our  house  we  sufiFered 

severely  ;  the  miserable  flat  roofs  covered  with  pressed 

mud  soon  began  to  leak ;  our  sitting  room  was  a  lake, 

and  then   it  came  into  our  bedroom,  so  that  we  were 

forced  to  sleep  under  umbrellas  and  waterproofs.   Never 

was  the  intense  idleness  and  apathy  of  the  Naxiotes  more 

z  2 


340  THE  CYCLADES, 


apparent  than  during  this  weather.  No  mules  came  in 
from  the  country  villages,  for  nobody  thinks  of  travelling 
when  it  rains  ;  consequently  no  brushwood  was  brought 
in,  and  the  stock  of  fuel  was  soon  exhausted,  the  result 
being  that  there  was  not  a  fire  in  Naxia  at  which  to  cook 
a  meal — not  that  this  mattered  much,  for  there  was  no- 
thing to  cook.  For  once  in  our  lives  we  were  compelled 
to  decide  that  we  would  keep  our  Christmas  like  the 
Naxiotes,  according  to  old  style,  and  fast  whilst  those  at 
home  were  feasting. 

Men  stay  in  bed  all  day  on  these  occasions,  mur- 
muring, *  Winter,  winter  ! '  when  my  thermometer  out- 
side our  window  never  fell  lower  than  55°  Fahr.  It  was 
the  misery  of  damp  and  inactivity  from  which  we  suf- 
fered, during  those  weary  days,  not  from  cold  ;  and  in 
those  wretched  pasteboard  houses,  where  rain  pours  in 
from  window  and  from  roof,  we  could  get  no  definite 
rest.  A  good  winter's  storm  in  a  northern  clime  would 
be  sufficient  to  efface  from  memory  the  dwellings  of  the 
Greeks  of  to-day. 

Our  only  amusement  during  these  days  was  paying 
visits  and  making  ourselves  at  home  with  the  Naxiotes, 
all  their  sitting-rooms  being  flooded  like  our  own.  We 
visited  most  of  the  Latin  families  on  the  hill,  and  saw 
their  treasures  of  embroidery  and  jewellery  preserved 
since  the  Venetian  days.  We  visited  the  Capuchin  con- 
vent, which  looked  thoroughly  Italian,  and  the  superior 
conversed  in  Italian  ;  and  then  we  visited  the  Greeks 
below,  of  whom  none  left  a  pleasanter  impression  upon 
us  than  Gregorios,  Bishop  of  Naxos  and  Paros,  called  the 

despot    (SsSTTOTrjs), 

He  is  a  comparatively  young  man,  and  took  a  special 
delight  in  showing  us  his  sacerdotal  treasures,  for  we  could 
not  help  audibly  admiring  the  jewel  which  he  wore — an 


NAXOS,  341 


enamelled  representation  of  the  Resurrection  set  in  dia- 
monds— so  forthwith  he  rang  for  his  mitre,  a  round  pear- 
shaped  thing  set  in  a  crown,  with  the  eagle,  the  symbol 
of  Constantine,  on  the  top.  He  explained  to  us  how  the 
Patriarch  Gennadius,  when  Constantinople  was  taken 
by  the  Turks,  had  saved  the  crown  of  Constantine,  and 
that  during  one  of  the  liturgies  he  came  forward  to  console 
the  Christians,  telling  them  not  to  grieve  for  the  loss  of 
their  emperor,  for  the  crown  was  saved,  which  the  Ckurch 
was  to  preserve  until  the  kmgdom  was  restored  ;  so  all 
Greek  mitres  are  set  in  a  crown.  Bishop  Gregorios* 
mitre  was  a  handsome  one,  adorned  with  an  abundance 
of  uncut  emeralds,  sapphires,  rubies,  and  diamonds  on 
a  smooth  velvet  foundation ;  and  a  diamond  cross  at  the 
top,  all  imitation,  alas  !  but  splendid  to  look  upon. 

So  gratified  did  we  seem  at  this  opportunity  of 
closely  examining  the  details  of  a  Greek  bishop's  robes 
that  he  sent  for  the  rest  and  put  them  on  for  us.  There 
is  much  that  is  symbolical  in  the  dress  :  at  the  bottom  of 
his  long  violet  satin  mantle  {sinjjbaviKia)  are  three  little 
silver  sheep-bells,  indicating  his  pastoral  office ;  there 
are  bands  of  red  and  white  to  symbolise  the  rivers  of 
grace  which  are  supposed  to  flow  from  the  bishop's 
mouth  ;  on  the  corners  and  at  the  shoulders  are  pieces 
of  white  brocade  with  flowers  on  it,  and  trimmed  with 
gold  braid— this  is  the  sTnrfovdriov^  and  is  supposed  to 
represent  the  towel  with  which  Christ  girded  Himself 
at  the  last  supper ;  and  then  on  the  back  are  the  four 
gammas^  back  to  back,  so  arranged  as  to  form  a  Greek 
cross.  Bishop  Gregorios  showed  us  two  very  handsome 
pastoral  staves,  one  of  ivory  and  tortoiseshell,  and  the 
other  of  silver  gilt ;  dressed  m  his  robes,  and  with  a  staff  in 
his  hand,  he  had  had  his  photograph  taken,  a  copy  of 
which  he  gave  us  with  great  pride. 


342  THE  CYCLADES. 


Perhaps  the  greatest  relief  to  the  monotony  of  our 
days  in  Naxia  was  afforded  by  the  cheerful  evenings 
when  the  daughters  of  our  host  sang  to  us.  Their 
voices  were  always  pitched  in  what  to  us  sounded  a 
high  and  unnatural  key  ;  but  they  sang  their  parts 
well,  and  with  great  feeling,  especially  *  The  Mariner's 
Love  Song,*  of  which  I  here  append  as  literal  a  trans- 
lation as  possible,  for  it  illustrates  the  simple  figurative 
language  in  which  a  Greek  loves  to  indulge  : — 

In  a  tiny  little  caique, 

Forth  in  my  folly  one  night. 
To  the  sea  of  love  I  gat  me, 

Where  the  land  was  nowhere  in  sight. 

O  my  star  !     O  my  brilliant  star  ! 

Have  pity  on  my  youth ; 
Desert  me  not,  oh,  leave  me  not 

Alone  in  the  sea  of  love  ! 

O  my  star  !     O  my  brilliant  star  ! 

I  have  met  you  on  my  path. 
Do  you  bid  me  not  tarry  near  you  ? 

Are  your  feelings  not  of  love  1 

Lo,  suddenly  about  me  fell 

The  darkness  of  that  night, 
And  the  sea  rolled  in  mountains  around  me, 

And  the  land  was  nowhere  in  sight. 

The  Greek  Christmas  day  immediately  followed 
our  return  from  the  mountains  of  Naxos,  and  we  en- 
joyed it  considerably  more  than  our  own.  A  Greek 
Christmas  in  its  ceremonial  closely  resembles  one  of  ours. 
On  the  eve  before  every  family  makes  its  KovXovptay  or 
round  cakes  twisted  like  a  serpent,  into  one  of  which  per- 
haps a  coin  is  put,  and  the  one  who  finds  the  coin  is  like 
the  individual  who  finds  the  ring  in  our  plum-pudding. 
Children  go  round  from  house  to  house  singing  mournful 


NAXOS,  343 


dirges  about  Christ's  birth,  for  which  they  receive  gifts 
from  the  householders ;  and  on  Christmas  Day,  after 
the  liturgy,  the  priest  goes  from  house  to  house  with  his 
acolytes  and  blesses  the  inmates  with  his  censer. 

It  is  a  general  holiday,  and  people  in  their  best  clothes 
visit  their  friends,  and  are  given  sweets,  coffee,  and  rakiy 
and  in  the  evening  they  dance  and  imbibe  far  more  than 
is  good  for  them. 

To  get  away  from  the  constant  succession  of  curious 
visitors  who  pestered  us  on  Christmas  afternoon  we  walked 
up  the  hillside  behind  Naxos  to  visit  a  nunnery  dedicated 
to  St.  Chrysostom,  into  .which  we  were  told  no  males 
would  be  admitted  without  special  permission  from  the 
bishop.  On  reaching  it  we  entered  a  low  door  without 
opposition  and  climbed  a  ladder  which  conducted  us  to 
a  storey  of  empty  cells ;  it  seemed  like  a  charmed  palace, 
this  huge  empty  nunnery,  as  if  inhabited  by  some  spell- 
bound princess.  On  our  descent,  however,  we  came 
across  and  terrified  three  nuns  just  coming  out  of  their 
cells,  whose  surprise  may  be  imagined  at  seeing  two 
fair-haired  males  descending  a  ladder  and  introducing 
themselves  as  *  angels,'  that  is  to  sayj^AYyXot,  or  English- 
men, on  Christmas  Day.  For  some  time  the  ignorant 
old  things  were  too  bewildered  to  speak,  and  it  was  long 
before  we  could  make  them  understand  who  we  were,  and 
what  our  object  was  in  thus  intruding.  Then  they  took 
us  to  their  church  and  showed  us  their  treasures ;  they 
gave  us  coffee  and  sweets  in  their  reception  room  ;  put 
questions  to  us  of  a  character  which  made  us  almost 
laugh,  such  as.  Where  is  England  ?  Is  it  near  Europe  } 
Are  the  English  Christians }  and  so  forth.  There  are  only 
five  of  them  left  now,  and  when  these  die  the  nunnery  of 
St.  Chrysostom  will  be  closed — no  loss  to  the  world  at 
large. 


344  THE   CVCLADES, 


The  bishop  was  much  surprised  to  hear  we  had  paid 
the  nuns  a  visit  without  his  leave,  but  in  no  way  annoyed, 
for  he  asked  us  to  dinner  next  day  if  the  steamer  did 
not  come  ;  but  I  regret  to  say  that  the  steamer  did  come, 
and  our  dinner  with  the  Bishop  of  Naxos  was  relegated 
to  our  category  of  disappointments. 


3.  In  the  Mountains  of  Naxos. 

It  was  certainly  not  a  fine  day,  properly  so  called, 
when  we  started  for  the  mountains  of  Naxos,  but  we 
flattered  ourselves  that  the  force  of  the  cyclone  was 
over,  and  that  we  might  go  on  our  lengthy  expedition 
without  loss  of  time.  Pictures  of  fearful  torrents  and 
drenching  rains  were  drawn  for  us,  but  we  were  deter- 
mined to  go,  thinking  that  nothing  could  be  worse  than 
sleeping  under  umbrellas  in  Naxia.  Time,  too,  was 
flying  rapidly,  as  quick  almost  as  our  patience  ;  so  at 
length  we  engaged  a  very  brave  muleteer  with  a  large 
umbrella,  whose  courage  put  two  others  to  shame, 
and  our  cavalcade  was  made  up.  It  was  easy  work  at 
first — along  a  new  road  which  is  in  course  of  construction 
up  the  fertile  plain  behind  the  town — and  as  we  rode 
along  we  realised  how  the  change  has  come  over  the 
land ;  for  mountains  which  once  were  covered  with  trees 
are  now  bare  rocks,  and  the  soil  from  these  has  been 
spread  over  this  plain  by  torrential  rains  such  as  we  had 
experienced  for  the  last  few  days  ;  and  they  told  us  that, 
in  digging  deep  for  water  on  this  plain,  evidences  of 
former  cultivation  and  relics  of  the  past  are  frequently 
discovered  several  feet  below  the  present  surface. 

Everything  is  very  fertile  here,  the  very  place  for  the 
home  of  the  wine  god  Bacchus  ;  for  Naxos,  the  Little 


NAXOS.  345 


Sicily,  as  the  ancients  called  it,  produced  in  its  day  a  wine 
which  Archilochus  likened  to  the  nectar  of  the  gods  ; 
and  even  now  they  make  a  wine,  which  they  have  named 
TO  Kpaal  Tov  ^Lovvaov  (the  wine  of  Dionysos).  Pindar 
calls  it  *  rich  Naxos,'  and  it  maintains  the  same  character 
still ;  yet  the  labourers  of  this  favoured  isle  are  through- 
out the  Cyclades  noted  for  their  want  of  industry, 
though  they  have  hardly  to  turn  the  soil  to  ensure  a 
rich  harvest.  The  labourers  of  Naxos  have  a  privilege 
which  is  elsewhere  unknown  :  the  employers  of  labour 
by  custom  give  their  men  olive  oil  with  which  to  make 
their  bread  more  palatable,  and  it  is  a  custom  which  the 
peasants  imperiously  claim  as  their  right. 

It  was  a  relief  to  leave  the  plain,  for  the  mule  track 
was  reduced  to  a  muddy  torrent-bed  by  the  late  rains, 
and  as  we  ascended  the  hill  we  discovered  that  our 
muleteers  intended  to  cheat  us  out  of  the  beautiful 
villages  of  Potamia — Upper,  Middle,  and  Lower  Potamia 
— because  they  feared  to  cross  a  stream.  The  evening 
was  lovely,  so  we  refused  to  be  cheated,  and  insisted  on 
being  conducted  up  the  valley  of  Drymalia,  greatly  to 
their  annoyance.  We  dismounted  and  started  on  foot 
ourselves,  leaving  our  servant  to  bring  on  the  muleteers 
as  best  he  could.  On  our  way  we  stopped  at  a  lovely 
country  house,  which  was  now  rather  dilapidated,  but 
bearing  evidences  of  bygone  wealth.  It  was  quite  like  a 
villa  in  Tuscany,  buried  in  olive  and  citron  groves,  and 
commanding  a  splendid  view  up  the  valley,  with  the 
lofty  peak  of  Mount  Jupiter  for  a  background,  and  the 
rivers  and  craggy  outline  of  the  range  which  forms  the 
backbone  of  Naxos.  At  the  bottom  of  the  garden  was 
a  little  many- coloured  ruined  church,  with  its  Byzantine 
dome  and  arched  windows  hidden  away  amongst  figs 
and  olives  ;  the  lapse  of  time  had  given  it  rich  red  and 


346  THE  CYC  LADES. 


yellow  streaks  :  it  was  a  perfect  gem  for  an  artist.  We 
were  quite  enchanted  with  this  villa  and  its  surroundings, 
the  rain-drops  on  the  olive  trees  sparkled  like  jewels  in 
the  bright  evening  light,  and  the  tall  brown  reeds  waved 
gracefully  over  the  pond  before  the  gentle  breeze.  In 
summer  time  a  retreat  like  this,  when  the  dust  and  heat 
of  Athens  parches  everything  that  lives,  would  be  a 
paradise. 

The  three  villages  of  Potamia  climb  up  the  hillside 
from  a  river,  which  gives  them  their  name,  and  which 
certainly  did  not  warrant  our  muleteers*  desire  to  avoid 
it.  It  was  really  ridiculous  to  see  these  great,  strong 
men  standing  on  the  brink  of  the  stream,  which  at  most 
would  not  take  them  above  their  knees,  and  saying  that 
they  feared  to  take  cold.  At  length  one  of  them,  braver 
than  the  others,  took  off  his  shoes  and  stockings  and 
led  the  mules  across  until  we  were  all  high  and  dry  on 
the  other  side,  and  soon  we  found  ourselves  halting  for 
the  night  in  the  village  of  Mesopotamia. 

Everything  around  was  luxuriantly  fertile  ;  maiden- 
hair, Cretan  moss,  and  wild  flowers  innumerable  lined 
the  path,  though  it  was  but  a  few  days  after  Christmas  ; 
and  orange  and  citron  orchards,  heavy  with  fruit,  covered 
the  slopes  ;  above  these  towered  in  sombre  dignity 
a  few  tall  fir  trees  and  cypresses,  up  the  stems  of  which 
the  vines  are  trained,  like  ivy  in  Ireland.  Rocks  of  fan- 
tastic shapes  mingled  with  the  verdure,  and  behind  the 
three  villages  rose  a  deserted  fortress  of  mediaeval  times. 
By  the  side  of  our  rocky  path  an  angry  stream  bounded, 
and  now  and  again  the  path  itself  was  turned  into  a 
watercourse,  up  which  the  mules  had  much  difficulty  in 
making  their  way.  Certainly  these  '  river  villages  *  were 
seen  to  the  greatest  advantage  when  approached,  as  was 
now  the  case,  by  a  cataract. 


NAXOS,  347 


We  came  to  a  halt  at  a  dirty  house,  where  we  had  to 
sit  for  hours,  whilst  a  palace,  they  said,  was  being  pre- 
pared for  our  reception,  and  where  lots  of  people  came 
in  to  see  us,  unpleasant,  rascally- looking  people,  of  a 
different  type  to  any  we  had  as  yet  seen  in  the  Cyclades. 
They  constantly  plied  us  with  coffee,  raki,  and  sweets 
as  we  waited  for  the  hen  we  had  purchased  to  be  boiled, 
and  they  played  persistently  for  our  benefit  on  the 
syravlion,  or  panpipe,  and  the  drum.  When  shepherds 
play  the  panpipe  on  the  hillside  it  is  romantic  enough  : 
the  instrument  is  a  simple  one,  just  two  reeds  hollowed 
out  and  placed  side  by  side  in  a  larger  reed  ;  straws  run 
up  the  smaller  reeds,  and  there  are  the  necessary  blow- 
holes :  but  in  a  tiny  cottage  the  shrill  sound  of  the 
syravlion  accompanied  by  a  drum  almost  drove  us  wild, 
tired  and  hungry  as  we  were,  so  we  had  to  pretend  to 
headaches  and  ask  for  repose. 

Our  palace  was  at  length  ready:  it  was  the  sum- 
mer residence  of  a  Greek  from  the  town,  who  had  left 
the  key  in  charge  of  the  village  blacksmith,  and  in 
summer,  I  dare  say,  it  might  be  a  charming  residence, 
with  its  hanging  gardens  and  balconies  covered  with 
creepers  and  vines  ;  but  then  there  was  not  a  pane  of 
glass  in  the  whole  house,  nothing  but  ill-fitting  shutters 
to  keep  out  the  rain  and  wind.  A  bed  was  rigged  up 
for  us,  in  a  storeroom  full  of  oranges,  by  placing  a 
mattress  on  some  boards,  which  mattress  felt  as  if  it  had 
been  made  of  walnuts  ;  and  the  rain  poured  in  from  the 
roof,  so  that  our  waterproofs  and  umbrellas  were  again 
in  requisition.  Next  morning  it  rained  again,  but  not 
too  heavily  to  prevent  our  climbing  up  to  the  mediaeval 
camp  above  Upper  Potamia. 

This  fortress,  which  commands  the  two  fertile  valleys 
of  Drymalia  and  Trajaia,  is  built  on  a  rocky  eminence, 


348  THE  CYC  LADES, 


which  has  evidently  served  a  similar  purpose  for  cen- 
turies, and  is,  in  fact,  the  acropolis  of  the  Naxiote 
valleys.  There  are  remains  of  an  old  Hellenic  wall  upon 
it,  of  which  I  could  only  trace  about  twenty  feet,  but  by 
far  the  greater  part  of  the  buildings  are  of  the  Venetian 
epoch,  and  point  to  its  having  been  a  stronghold  of  the 
Sanudo  family.  Just  below  the  summit  is  a  hot  spring 
in  a  field  ;  this,  the  peasant  who  acted  as  our  guide 
told  us,  was  once  the  bath  of  the  queen  of.  the  ancient 
Greeks.  *  What  was  her  name  ?  '  I  asked,  hoping  to  find 
some  trace  of  the  legend  of  Ariadne.  *  I  don't  know,' 
was  the  reply,  *  but  my  uncle,  the  schoolmaster,  does.* 
On  returning  to  Mesopotamia  I  sought  out  the  old  man, 
and  he  was  very  positive  that  the  queen's  name  was 
Aphaidra  ;  which  disappointed  me  and  gave  me  no  clue 
whatsoever  as  to  the  origin  of  the  tradition. 

Close  to  this  spot  a  labouring  man  found  a  jar  of 
Byzantine  coins,  and  in  connection  with  a  church  at 
the  top  of  the  rock  a  tradition  exists,  which  excites 
the  Potamiotes  immensely  whenever  they  think  of  it — 
namely,  that  a  pirate  some  years  ago  killed  the  priest 
of  this  church,  because  he  refused  to  tell  him  where  he 
had  buried  his  treasures.  Periodically  the  peasants 
have  a  fit  of  digging  for  this  hidden  treasure,  for  it  is 
known  that  during  the  war  of  independence  everyone 
buried  everything  he  had  that  was  valuable,  and  the 
occasional  discovery  of  some  of  these  things,  the  owners 
of  which  have  died  and  left  no  clue  behind,  tends  to 
keep  up  the  excitement.  Hiding  money  in  the  ground 
was  the  favourite  bank  of  rich  men  of  business  in 
ancient  days,  as  we  learn  from  the  plea  urged  by  the 
guardians  of  the  younger  Demosthenes,  to  account 
for  the  non-production  of  money  bequeathed  by  the 
elder. 


NAXOS.  349 


From  the  summit  of  this  old  camp  we  had  a  most 
repaying  view  over  the  two  valleys.  Trajaia  is  a  lovely 
spot,  with  seven  prosperous  villages,  nestling  under  the 
shadow  of  Mount  Jupiter,  and  covered  with  olive  trees. 
From  here  only  distant  glimpses  of  the  sea  can  t)e  got.  "* 

It  seemed  by  far  the  most  inland  spot  we  had  yet  visited 
in  the  Cyclades. 

The  people  of  Potamia  are  mpst  superstitious  about 
this  ancient  camp,  and  believe  it  to  be  the  haunt  of  un- 
canny animals.  One  day  our  guide,  Maratris  by  name, 
said  he  was  out  shooting  hares,  when  he  saw  a  lamb 
rolling  down  the  hill  and  making  a  noise  as  if  it  was 
pulling  a  chain  after  it ;  on  approaching  the  lamb  took 
the  form  of  an  ox.  Another  time  he  saw  phantasms  in 
the  shape  of  sows  rushing  wildly  down  the  hill  and  dis- 
appearing in  a  swamp.  It  appeared  that  many  similar 
stories  are  attached  to  this  spot,  about  bears  and  other 
savage  animals  having  been  seen  thereon,  and  terrifying 
the  inhabitants,  who  would  not  for  worlds  pass  the  night 
near  it,  and  invest  it  with  all  sorts  of  horrors. 

We  did>fiot  like  the  Potamiotes  at  all,  for,  in  spite  of 
all  their  protestations  of  hospitality,  their  demands  for 
payment  were  atrociously  exorbitant ;  that  afternoon 
before  starting  we  had  an  exciting  scene,  and  only  by 
threatening  to  return  to  Naxia,  and  have  the  extor- 
tioners put  in  prison,  could  we  get  away ;  it  was  posi- 
tively the  only  place  during  our  island  wanderings 
where  we  had  any  difficulty  of  this  kind. 

The  afternoon  was  again  lovely  after  the  morning 
rain,  and  the  gigantic  olive  trees  in  the  vale  of  Trajaia 
were  sparkling  in  the  sunshine.  In  this  valley,  too, 
there  are  evident  traces  of  ancient  occupation,  and  it  is 
supposed  to  take  its  name  from  Apollo  Trajios,  who 
was  worshipped^  here.     Chalki  is  the  chief  town  of  the 


3  so  THE  CYCLADES. 


district,  and  in  the  house  of  Gabalas,  of  Chalki,  we  took 
up  our  abode.  Gabalas  was  a  man  of  exceedingly  jovial 
tendency,  and  on  the  refusal  of  our  muleteers  to  accom- 
pany us  further  he  volunteered  his  services  in  getting 
together  another  team  for  us,  of  which  he  was  to  be 
the  leader.  He  came  from  Crete,  he  said,  when  quite 
young,  and  was  ready  to  go  back  there  again  as  soon  as 
the  Turks  had  left  it ;  meanwhile  he  managed,  with  his 
wife  and  son,  to  get  along  pretty  well  at  Chalki.  Not 
that  his  house  was  by  any  means  a  paradise,  for  under 
his  only  bed,  which  was  given  up  to  us,  they  kept  a 
perfect  menagerie  of  cocks,  and  hens,  and  lambs,  which 
sent  up  by  no  means  a  savoury  odour  to  our  nostrils  ; 
but  they  were  afraid  of  leaving  them  out  of  doors  for 
fear  of  the  robbers  of  Apeiranthos,  and  had  nowhere 
better  to  put  them.  These  robbers  from  the  mountains 
seem  to  be  the  bane  of  the  villages  of  Naxos. 

Chalki  seems  to  have  been  a  place  of  considerable 
importance  in  mediaeval  days,  and  the  Church  of  St. 
John  here  is  the  oldest  Christian  building  in  the  island  :  it 
is  curious  in  formation,  with  a  long  porch  with  three  Gothic 
arches  on  either  side,  about  fifty  feet  long,  and  having 
no  roof  to  it  now,  but  a  vine  trailing  over  it :  this  seems 
to  be  a  mediaeval  addition.  Inside  the  building  is  strictly 
Byzantine  :  you  enter  a  narrow  narthex  with  arches  on 
either  side,  which  lead  into  two  dark  collateral  chapels  ; 
between  the  narthex  and  the  choir  is  a  narrow  space 
with  a  waggon  roof ;  over  the  choir  is  a  dome  covered 
with  frescoes.  The  front  of  this  church  has  a  stepped 
edging. 

All  around  Chalki  are  ruins  of  churches,  dating  from 
the  middle  ages,  hidden  away  and  buried  in  the  olive 
groves ;  one  of  them,  dedicated  to  St.  George,  is  espe- 
cially picturesque,  being  covered  with  ivy,  and  over  the 


NAXOS,  351 


archway  into  the  nave  is  a  very  long  old  Hellenic  inscrip- 
tion ;  also  there  are  several  traces  of  an  ancient  temple 
— perhaps  that  of  Apollo  Trajios.  But  these  churches 
are  now  for  the  most  part  disused  and  falling  into  ruins, 
as  also  are  the  large  towers,  where  once  lived  the 
Venetian  proprietors  around  Chalki.  It  is  a  place  of  the 
past,  but  very  lovely  in  its  decay. 

Gabalas  treated  us  to  his  best  fare.  In  addition  to 
the  usual  fowl,  we  had  a  pilaff  of  snails  ;  that  is  to  s^y, 
snails  boiled  with  rice  and  oil,  which  formed  a  most 
excellent  dish.  Our  host  revelled  in  them,  and  as  he 
busily  extricated  them  with  a  pin  from  their  shells  he 
propounded  to  us  a  Naxiote  riddle,  at  which  he  laughed 
a  great  deal,  and  was  surprised  at  our  guessing  it  quite 
easily : — 

There  was  a  thing — such  a  wonderful  sight — 
Two  horns  on  its  head,  animal  it  was  not ; 

Such  a  wonderful  thing — such  a  wonderful  sight — 
It  carried  a  saddle,  and  mule  it  was  not  "^ 

Gabalas  was  full  of  life  as  he  accompanied  us  on  our 
road  towards  Philoti  on  the  morrow ;  this  is  the  last 
village  in  the  vale  of  Trajaia,  and  just  under  Mount 
Jupiter ;  and  here  we  were  given  a  large  Venetian  tower 
all  to  ourselves  with  a  commanding  view,  the  lower 
storey  of  which  was  a  pigsty,  the  top  storey  a  dovecote, 
and  in  the  room  next  to  ours  we  were  alarmed  by 
strange  noises  in  the  night,  and  on  looking  in  we  found 
two  sheep  put  there  for  safety.  But  the  rain  did  not 
penetrate  through  the  dovecote,  and  we  were  thankful 
to  be  once  more  dry  ;  also  they  gave  us  a  large  brazier 
full  of  charcoal,  with  which  we  were  tolerably  successful 
in  drying  our  clothes.  Our  prospects  of  food,  too,  were 
good,  for  we  met  a  man  with  his  pockets  full  of  wood- 
cock and  partridges,  all  of  which  we  bought  at  the  rate 


352  THE  CYC  LADES. 


of  sixpence  a  piece,  and  could  not  be  got  to  feel  that 
we  had  been  greatly  cheated  when  Papa  Eleutherios, 
a  priest  who  took  us  under  his  special  care,  told  us  we 
had  paid  twice  too  much.  Papa  Eleutherios  installed 
himself  in  our  tower  as  head  cook  ;  he  took  off  his 
cassock,  and  forthwith  set  to  work  to  pluck  our  treasures : 
he  was  the  pattern  of  good-nature,  and  rushed  all  over 
Philoti  in  search  of  comforts  for  us,  and  refused  to  allow 
us  to  buy  loaves  at  a  drachma  apiece.  *  Far  too  dear ! ' 
he  said,  and  he  ran  off  to  get  us  some  of  the  sacred  bread 
{apros)  which  is  presented  by  the  faithful  to  the  priest. 
(This  word  apros,  by  the  way,  is  one  of  the  many  instances 
of  the  preservation  of  an  old  word  through  Church  influ- 
ence, yfrcofil  being  the  common  word  for  bread.) 

After  our  meal  the  priest  came  out  with  us  to  show 
us  the  lions.  Philoti  is  a  large  village,  crowning  twin 
heights,  with  an  ugly  new  Greek  church  in  the  declivity 
between.  As  we  were  climbing  up  one  of  the  heights  we 
heard  terrible  language  issuing  from  a  shed  where  some 
women  were  grinding  corn  with  simple  but  quaint  hand- 
mills,  namely,  two  heavy  round  stones,  the  upper  one  of 
which  works  on  a  pivot  attached  to  a  stick  a  yard  and  a 
half  long,  which  is  fixed  into  a  wooden  fork  in  the  wall 
so  loosely  that  it  can  be  revolved  with  ease  by  pressing 
on  the  stick. 

The  women  had  stopped  their  grinding,  and  were 
listening  with  awe  to  the  declamations  of  an  old  grey- 
haired  hag,  who  was  telling  a  pitiful  tale  of  how  robbers 
from  Apeiranthos  the  night  before  had  broken  into  her 
yard  and  tried  to  steal  her  pigs,  which  squeaked  so  loudly 
that  she  woke,  and  frightened  the  robbers  away,  but  not 
before  one  of  her  pigs  had  been  slain.  Nothing  would 
satisfy  the  old  woman  but  that  we  should  return  with 
her  to  her  house,  view  the  scene  of  the  intended  robbery, 


NAXOS,  353 


and  lay  her  case  before  the  authorities  on  our  return  to 
the  capital. 

Everywhere  in  Naxos  they  have  a  bad  word  for  the 
people  of  Apeiranthos  ;  a  village  of  robbers,  we  were  told 
it  was,  away  in  the  mountains.  It  was  to  be  our  next 
halting  place  after  leaving  Philoti,  so  we  were  concerned 
at  all  the  evil  reports  we  had  heard  ;  for,  say  they,  a  man 
of  Apeiranthos  is  clever  enough  to  steal  the  sole  off  your 
boot,  or  the  hat  off  your  head,  without  your  knowing  it ; 
and  the  facetious  Naxiotes  tell  an  ill-natured  legend  about 
these  people  with  great  gusto,  namely,  that  Apeiranthos 
was  a  Cretan  colony  ;  that  Barabbas  was  a  Cretan  ;  and 
that  after  his  delivery  from  prison  he  returned  home, 
where  he  behaved  so  badly  that  the  Cretans  drove  him 
away  :  so  he  came  to  Naxos  and  founded  the  colony  of 
Apeiranthos. 

By  the  time  we  got  to  the  old  woman's  house  we  were 
almost  out  of  breath,  for  she  lived  at  the  extreme  summit 
of  one  of  the  heights  in  a  funny  desolate  cottage,  with 
furniture  of  a  primitive  kind,  absolutely  nothing  worth 
stealing  except  her  pig.  However  we  saw  here  for  the 
first  time  a  speciality  of  Philoti,  namely,  a  syphon  with 
which  wine  is  drawn  out  of  the  large  jars  in  which  they 
keep  it.  After  the  wine  is  put  in  they  cover  the  jars 
over  with  a  coating  of  clay  into  which  a  syphon  is  stuck, 
so  constructed  that  you  can  fill  it  by  suction  ;  you  then 
pour  it  out  of  the  hole  you  have  sucked  and  use  the 
end  that  has  been  introduced  into  the  jar  for  a  handle. 

The  following  morning  (for  a  wonder  !)  was  beautiful, 
and  at  earliest  dawn  the  inhabitants  of  Philoti  appeared 
on  their  flat  roofs.  I  thought  they  must  all  be  mad  at 
first,  for  they  were  occupied  in  kicking  about  what 
appeared  to  me  to  be  the  marble  pillars  of  son^e  ancient 
temple  ;  but  I  soon  discovered  that  each  roof  was  pro- 

A  A 


354  THE  CYCLADES, 


vided  with  a  round  marble  roller,  and  that  every  woman 
was  kicking  hers  about  to  press  the  mud  roof,  which 
the  late  rains  had  disturbed. 

To-day  with  a  prospect  of  fine  weather  we  determined 
to  make  the  tour  of  Mount  Jupiter — Mount  Zia,  as  they 
call  it  now.  Naxos  in  former  ages  was  called  Zia,  and 
on  a  large  stone  on  the  northern  slope  of  the  mountain 
we  read  the  following  inscription  in  ancient  characters : 
0P02  AI02  MIAH2IOT  (the  mountain  of  Milesian 
Jupiter).  It  is  a  peaked  conical  mountain,  only  3,290  feet 
in  height,  but  as  it  rises  almost  straight  from  the  sea-level 
it  appears  exceedingly  lofty.  Its  slopes  are  rugged  and 
covered  with  the  holly  oak  {Ilex  aquifolium),  with  the 
prickly  leaves  of  which  the  peasants  feed  their  cattle. 
We  first  climbed  up  to  a  steep  cave,  which  goes  deep 
into  the  heart  of  the  mountain  :  at  its  entrance  is  an  altar 
called  the  *  church  of  Zia,'  where  a  priest  goes  once  a 
year  in  the  summer  time  and  holds  a  liturgy  for  the 
mountain  shepherds ;  around  it  are  a  few  incense  pots 
and  bits  of  wood  which  have  been  sacred  pictures  in 
days  gone  by.  At  this  altar  a  shepherd  is  accustomed 
to  swear  to  his  innocence  if  another  charges  him  with 
having  stolen  a  sheep  or  a  goat.  An  oath  by  the  altar 
of  Zia  is  held  very  sacred  by  the  mountaineers,  and  is 
an  earnest  of  innocence.  It  is  curious  still  to  find  the 
actual  word  Zsvs  existing  in  this  form,  and  the  idea  of 
a  supreme  God  has  been  transferred  from  Zeus  to  the 
present  religious  tenets.  *  God  is  shaking  His  hair,'  say 
the  peasants  when  there  is  an  earthquake,  as  if  He  were 
the  Olympus-throned  Zeus  of  the  *  Iliad.'  This  cave  and 
mountain  of  Jupiter,  I  have  little  doubt,  had  much  to  do 
with  the  ancient  worship  of  Jupiter.  The  old  myth 
related  how  the  king  of  the  gods  was  brought  from  his 
birthplace  in  Crete  to  Naxos,  where  he  was  brought  up. 


NAXOS,  355 


and  from  whence  he  removed  to  take  up  his  kingdom  on 
Olympus.  We  have  seen  the  above-mentioned  inscrip- 
tion, the  cave  with  the  altar  still  in  it ;  is  it  not  highly 
probable  that  this  is  the  cave  in  which  Zeus  was  supposed 
to  have  spent  his  youth  ?  It  runs  a  very  long  way  into 
the  rock,  and  we  had  it  lighted  up  for  us  by  brushwood, 
but  it  contains  nothing  remarkable,  save  a  spring  of  hot 
water,  which  in  ancient  times  may  have  given  rise  to  super- 
stition. A  local  tradition  says  that  once  upon  a  time  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Philoti  took  refuge  here  from  Saracen 
marauders  who  followed  them,  and  by  making  a  fire  at 
the  mouth  of  the  cave  they  suffocated  them  all._ 

Leaving  the  peaky  summit  of  Mount  Zia  to  our  left — 
for  as  midday  came  on  clouds  began  to  gather  around 
the  summit,  and  it  was  useless  to  make  the  ascent— we 
joined  a  path  which  leads  from  Philoti  to  Panormos,  just 
close  to  a  well  of  excellent  water,  shaded  by  a  plantain 
tree,  and  called  Xsvr^aXiov^  a  word  rare  in  later  classical 
times,  but  used  in  the  '  Odyssey '  xvi.  273,  and  by 
Sophocles,  where  it  is  explained  as  meaning  *  moist '  or 
*  rainy.' 

The  tower  *  of  the  winter  torrent '  (Xsifiappos)  is  on 
this  road  to  Panormos :  it  is  round  and  of  white  marble, 
and  is  principally  worthy  of  notice  from  its  spiral  stair- 
case, but  is  in  no  way  so  perfect  as  those  of  Andros  and 
Amorgos.  Having  seen  this  we  returned  by  another  road 
to  Philoti,  thus  making  the  entire  circuit  of  Mount  Zia. 

Next  morning  we  started  for  that  dreaded  haunt 
of  robbers,  Apeiranthos.  The  road  led  over  a  spur  of 
mountains  which  joins  Mount  Jupiter  with  Mount 
Koronon,  and  divides  Naxos  into  two  districts — the 
bright  and  sunny  vales  of  Drymalia  and  Trajaia  on  one 
side,  and  the  bleak  northern  villages  of  Apeiranthos, 
Komiak^,  and  Bothr6  on  the  other.     As  we  descended 

A  A  2 


356  THE  CYCLADES. 


on  the  village  Barabbas  is  supposed  to  have  founded, 
we  could  not  help  thinking  that,  for  nefarious  pur- 
poses, he  had  chosen  well,  being,  as  it  is,  far  off  froni  the 
haunts  of  men,  and  overlooking  from  a  rocky  eminence 
a  fairly  fertile  valley,  by  which  the  sea  could  easily  be 
approached. 

We  had  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  chief  legal 
functionary  of  the  place,  the  demarch,  or,  as  our  friend 
in  Naxia  said,  *the  chief  robber';  so  we  thought  that 
we  should  at  all  events  be  in  good  quarters  in  this  den 
of  thieves.  Whilst  this  letter  was  being  delivered  we 
stood  in  the  little  agora  with  our  eyes  firmly  fixed  on 
our  luggage.  *  The  reports  are  true,'  we  thought  as  we 
looked  around  us  ;  for  never  have  I  seen  a  wilder,  more 
forbidding  set  of  people  than  the  men  of  Apeiranthos 
as  they  gathered  round  and  stared  at  us.  The  town 
is  high,  faces  north,  and  is  extremely  cold  ;  so  each  man 
had  on  a  huge  brown  greatcoat,  with  hair  outside  and  a 
rim  of  red  inside  ;  some  had  their  hoods  pulled  over 
their  heads ;  others  had  their  cloaks  hanging  loosely 
around  them,  and  showing  a  powerful  physique.  Alto- 
gether they  resembled  conspirators  in  a  chorus,  and 
made  us  regret  having  ventured  amongst  them.  An- 
other curious  and  marked  type  of  these  men  was  their 
large  noses,  which  they  screwed  up  when  they  laughed, 
and  which  increased  their  sinister  appearance. 

Our  misgivings  were  soon  dissipated  by  the  kindness 
of  the  demarch  and  his  brother,  whose  hospitality  knew 
no  bounds  ;  yet  we  could  not  help  noticing  that  the 
windows  were  closely  barred,  and  that  when  they  went 
out  with  us  they  gave  special  instructions  to  the  women 
to  look  after  our  things. 

*  You  see,'  said  the  demarch,  *  there  are  some  bad 
people  amongst  us,  who  live  by  piracy,  though  of  late 


NAXOS.  357 


years  their  number  has  been  greatly  reduced.  But  it 
will  be  long  before  we  lose  the  name  of  being  the  worst 
people  in  the  island.  Everywhere  .the  Naxiotes  have  a 
bad  name,  and  you  have  come  amongst  the  worst  of  the 
Naxiotes.*  He  laughed  at  this  confession,  and  I  think 
we  felt  our  confidence  entirely  restored  by  his  frank- 
ness. 

The  Apeiranthiotes  are  thrifty  and  well-to-do  ;  they 
have  comfortable  houses,  far  better  than  the  other 
Naxiote  villagers.  Many  of  them  have  made  money 
abroad,  and  returned  to  spend  it  in  their  mountain 
home.  They  have  quantities  of  lovely  red  silk  em- 
broidery amongst  them,  Cretan  work,  which  points  to 
their  origin ;  for  doubtless  there  is  this  much  truth  in 
the  Barabbas  story  that  Apeiranthos  was  colonised  by 
Cretans  at  the  time  of  one  of  the  numerous  revolutions 
which  have  driven  away  so  many  from  there,  and  the 
ill-will,  and  perhaps  jealousy,  of  their  neighbours — for 
nowhere  in  the  Cyclades  are  the  Cretan  refugees  popular 
— have  invented  the  tradition  about  Barabbas. 

There  is  much  that  is  quaint  about  this  people  :  they 
speak  a  marked  dialect,  with  ancient  forms  and  words, 
which  we  met  with  nowhere  else  ;  they  use  the  ancient 
form  of  the  plural,  that  is  to  say,  they  will  say  rpa^ov- 
hovai  (they  sing)  instead  of  the  usual  rpayovBovp  ;  and 
the  shepherds  of  Apeiranthos  wear  a  wonderful  garb, 
which  they  call  paao^paKcus^  which  rather  resembles  two 
sacks  of  flannel  fa$tened  together  than  trousers ;  their 
shoes  are  sewn  together  with  strings  of  goafs  hide, 
round  their  waist  they  wear  a  cotton  vest  wound  round 
and  round  their  bodies,  and  skin  caps  on  their  heads. 

In  many  of  their  houses  we  saw  the  lyre,  the  <l>6pfiLy^ 
of  the  ancients,  still  bearing  its  ancient  name — a  pretty 
little  instrument,  about  half  a  yard  long,  of  pear  wood, 


358  THE  CYCLADES. 


such  as  they  play,  as  a  rule,  at  the  village  dances,  which 
take  place  in  the  little  square  under  the  plantain  tree. 
*  If  you  will  only  stay  over  Christmas  'you  shall  see  one 
of  our  dances,'  said  the  demarch  ;  but  even  this  did 
not  tempt  us  to  prolong  our  stay  amongst  the  robbers. 
Inside  the  houses  struck  us  as  tidier  than  many  we  had 
seen :  ornaments  always  adorned  the  best  table — atro- 
cious things,  though  they  were  from  Europe — or  gourds 
like  cottage  loaves,  dried  scarlet,  with  streaks  of  yellow 
and  green  :  and  our  host  gave  us  regular  Russian  tea  out 
of  a  brass  tea-urn,  and  other  arrangements,  which  he  had 
brought  back  with  him  from  Russia.  Nowhere  in  Naxos 
is  embroidery  so  common  as  here  :  the  beds  are  trimmed 
with  it,  the  towels  are  smart  enough  for  antimacassars : 
this  gives  an  air  of  prosperity  to  the  place  and  gratifies 
the  eye. 

Apeiranthos  is  a  large  village  of  romantic  aspect, 
with  houses  built  on  the  edges  of  precipices,  and  above 
it  towers  Mount  Fanari,  another  peak  of  the  Naxiote 
range.  The  houses  are,  for  the  most  part,  yellow  with  a 
peculiar  lichen.  The  streets  are  tortuous  and  narrow,  so 
constituted  that  when  pirates  came  the  inhabitants  could 
baffle  anyone  who  attempted  to  enter  their  labyrinths.  As 
for  hospitality  these  people  are  unequalled,  and  our  host 
was  desperately  insulted  at  a  hint  of  any  remunera- 
tion for  his  kindness  ;  as  we  rode  away  they  filled  our 
pockets  with  nuts  and  figs,  and  gave  us  a  bottle  of 
delicious  raki  to  warm  us  on  our  road  ;  and  we  wanted 
it,  too,  for  about  two  hours  after  leaving  Apeiranthos  our 
road  ascended  almost  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Fanari, 
where  we  were  exposed  to  the  hail  and  a  biting  wind, 
and  were  lost  in  mist.  The  Naxiote  mountains  in 
winter  are  anything  but  enjoyable — wild  and  desolate, 
with  just  a  few  eagles  soaring  in  the  air  now  and  again  ; 


NAXOS.  359 


rare  birds  in  the  islands  though  common  enough  on  the 
mainland.  Be  careful  when  you  see  one  to  pass  him  on 
your  right ;  it  is  considered  unlucky  in  Greece  to  see  an 
eagle  on  your  left  Presently  we  came  to  a  particularly 
gusty  spot.  Gabalas  informed  us  that  this  spot  was 
called,  as  it  justly  deserved,  *  the  dancing  place  of  the 
winds  *  (dvsfio'xppevTpa),  *  And  this  is  how  they  dance,' 
he  said,  as  he  went  through  some  of  the  wild  evolutions 
of  the  syrtos  for  our  benefit,  which  has  in  it  so  much  of 
the  ancient  Pyrrhic  dance  ;  and  very  funny  he  looked  as 
he  impersonated  the  antics  of  the  winds  in  the  mist  on  the 
mountain-top.  The  Greeks  have  still  the  same  vivid  ima- 
gination as  of  old,  and  love  to  personify  the  mysterious. 

We  left  the  village  of  Bothr6  below  us,  close  to  which 
the  emery  mines  of  Naxos  He,  and  we  reached  Komiake 
late  in  the  afternoon.  This  is  the  highest  village  in  the 
island,  and  for  the  two  days  we  remained  there  we  were 
perpetually  in  a  mist.  The  village  is  only  approached 
by  roads  which  cross  over  the  summit  of  the  mountain  ; 
sometimes  for  a  fortnight  at  a  time  no  one  can  get  to  or 
from  the  village  in  the  winter,  owing  to  falls  of  snow. 
I  must  say  I  felt  very  uneasy  all  the  time  we  were  there 
lest  this  ill  luck  should  befall  us  ;  a  fortnight  amongst 
the  robbers  would  be  preferable. 

The  only  decent  house  in  the  village  of  Komiakd 
belongs  to  the  demarch,  Konstantinides,  whom  we  had 
met  in  Naxia,  and  who  had  bid  us  stay  at  his  house  if  we 
visited  his  village.  He  was  away  when  we  arrived,  but 
his  pretty  daughter  Athen^  received  us  with  the  best 
possible  grace,  whilst  we,  with  what  seemed  to  us  un- 
paralleled effrontery,  turned  her  father's  house  inside  out. 
It  is  quite  the  fashion  in  Greece  for  travellers  to  act  like 
young  Marlow  in  *  She  Stoops  to  Conquer,'  only  in  this 
case  you  deliberately  turn  your  host's  house  into  an  inn 


36o  THE  CYCLADES. 


without  the  excuse  of  having  mistaken  it  for  one.  We 
ordered  our  own  meals  ;  we  sent  for  more  ashes  in  the 
brazier  whenever  it  got  low  ;  our  muleteers  sat  in  a  row 
in  the  parlour ;  and  Gabalas,  to  our  horror,  treated  Miss 
Athena  in  what  we  thought  a  horribly  familiar  manner. 
But  there  is  no  distinction  of  class  in  these  parts,  the 
dirtiest  yokel  who  comes  in  is  asked  to  sit  down,  and  given 
a  glass  of  raki,  by  the  head  lady  of  the  place.  Gabalas 
took  oflF  his  boots  and  stockings  in  the  drawing  room  to 
dry  them  at  the  brazier,  otherwise,  he  said,  he  should 
catch  a  cold  in  his  feet  (TroSmfo))  ;  and  then  in  walked 
a  miserable  fever-stricken  peasant  to  beg  for  quinine, 
shivering  and  wet  through  with  the  mist.  He  could  not 
resist  the  sight  of  the  warm  brazier,  so  he  drew  up  a 
chair  and  joined  our  circle,  to  the  surprise  of  no  one. 

Komiak6  is  but  a  miserable  village  of  mountain 
shepherds:  the  houses  are  perfect  hovels  where  the  families 
live  with  their  pigs,  their  cocks  and  hens,  and  their  store 
cf  wood,  whilst  the  baby's  only  cradle  is  the  pig-trough. 
We  went  into  many  of  them,  and  found  their  inhabitants 
truly  primitive  folk.  Nowhere  is  the  belief  in  Kalkagari 
more  prevalent  than  here  ;  evil  spirits  which  appear  on 
earth  for  ten  days  only  in  the  year,  from  Christmas  to 
Epiphany.  An  old  hag  we  visited  gave  us  a  curious 
account  of  them.  During  these  ten  days  these  spirits 
dwell  in  caves,  subsisting,  like  the  Amazons  of  old,  on 
snakes  and  lizards,  and  sometimes  women  for  a  treat  if 
they  can  entrap  them  ;  at  night  they  dance  till  cockcrow, 
and  enter  houses  by  the  chimneys.  So  a  careful  housewife 
is  bound  during  this  time  to  keep  embers  smouldering 
all  night  on  her  hearth,  otherwise  the  Kalkagari  will  get 
in  and  spoil  all  the  things  in  the  house  with  their  dirty 
tricks.  •  The  priests  only  have  the  power  of  driving  them 
away  by  blessing  the  houses  as  they  do  on  Christmas 


NAXOS.  361 


Day,  and  then  when  Epiphany  comes  these  creatures  are 
forced  to  flee  underground,  taking  before  they  go  a  hack  at 
the  tree  which  supports  the  world,  and  which  one  day  they 
will  cut  through.  They  are  personified  as  being  of  evil 
shapes — huge  men  with  goats'  or  asses'  feet  and  wooden 
shoes,  and  when  they  stand  erect  their  heads  are  higher 
than  the  highest  chimney.  In  short,  they  are  the  modern 
representatives  of  the  satyrs  (Bv<Tfiop<f>oL  alyiTroSes), 

Next  day,  in  spite  of  the  mist  and  rain  in  which 
Komiake  was  enshrouded,  we  set  off  to  visit  the  un- 
finished colossal  statueof  Apollo,  which  lies  near  the  sea, 
at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Soon  after  leaving  the 
village  we  emerged  from  the  mist  and  had  a  glorious 
day.  The  path  led  through  a  fertile  valley,  where  some 
of  the  finest  orange  trees  in  Naxos  grow  on  a  property 
belonging  chiefly  to  our  host,  the  demarch. 

Down  by  the  sea  is  the  marble  hill  of  Naxos,  which 
was  worked  as  a  quarry  by  the  ancients,  and  close  to 
which  are  numerous  traces  of  antiquity — steps  down  to 
the  sea,  Ionic  columns,  &c.  On  one  side  of  the  hill  is 
cut  in  old  letters  0P02  XHPIOT  T  .  . .  AIIOAAHNOS. 
Hence  the  hill  is  still  known  as  Apollo's  Hill,  and  the 
unfinished  statue  as  one  of  Apollo.  It  lies  at  full  length 
in  the  quarry,  out  of  which  it  has  been  hewn.  From  the 
sole  of  the  feet  to  the  crown  of  the  head  it  is  thirty- four 
feet  long,  across  the  chest  it  is  sixty-eight  inches,  and 
eighty  inches  is  the  length  of  the  arm  from  shoulder  to 
elbow.  It  has  evidently  been  intended  for  an  erect, 
naked  statue  ;  the  left  foot  is  a  little  advanced,  the 
arms  from  the  shoulder  to  the  elbow  rest  on  the  side, 
and  are  then  stretched  across  the  breast,  which  is  very 
prominent.  Locks  of  hair  hang  over  the  forehead,  and 
at  the  chin  a  piece  of  marble  has  been  left,  as  if  for  a 
beard.    It  is  all  unfinished,  but  quite  sufficiently  advanced 


362  THE  CYCLADES. 


for  one  to  be  able  to  trace  every  limb ;  and  very  huge 
it  looks  as  it  lies  on  its  back  in  the  quarry,  surrounded 
by  mastic  and  shrubs.  It  is,  of  course,  mere  specula- 
tion to  argue  about  its  intended  destination.  Was  it 
intended  to  replace  the  Naxiote  statue  of  Apollo  at 
Delos,  which  had  been  destroyed  ?  Was  it  never  finished 
because  the  marble  was  found  to  be  imperfect ;  for  it  is 
obvious  that  the  piece  was  not  a  good  one,  though  it 
may  have  deteriorated  with  time  and  exposure  ;  or  w^as 
it  unfinished  because  some  war  or  pestilence  came  to 
put  an  end  to  their  work  ?  Curiously  enough,  in  Naxos 
I  saw  several  unfinished  statues.  I  was  shown  one  of  a 
woman  at  Potamia,  and  another  has  been  found  lately  at 
Melanes  ;  Ross  says  he  also  saw  one  :  so  it  seems  as  if 
there  had  been  a  cause  for  this,  which  now  we  cannot  tell. 

After  a  warm,  pleasant  day  spent  down  by  the 
shore  we  returned  to  our  mist  and  our  damp  at 
Komiak^. 

There  was  loud  grief  and  lamentation  in  one  of  the 
houses  next  morning  ;  some  parents  had  lost  a  child  of 
two  years  old — the  fourth  of  the  same  poor  family  which 
had  sickened  and  died — so  they  thought  some  spirit 
(cTToi'x^slov)  must  haunt  their  dwelling,  and  that  they 
must  move.  *How  anybody  could  live  there  at  all,  I  won- 
dered ;  for  the  floor  was  muddy  and  in  puddles,  the  roof 
was  dripping,  and  the  whole  accommodation  for  the 
family  was  this  one  room,  and  yet  they  were  surprised 
that  their  children  dropped  off  from  cold  and  colic,  and 
put  it  down  to  supernatural  causes. 

The  funeral  and  the  wailing  were  to  be  at  ten  ;  and 
curiosity  prompted  me  to  go.  The  mother  was  sitting  in 
a  corner  howling  as  I  entered.  *  O  my  darling,  why  hast 
thou  gone?  who  has  cursed  us?  what  evil  spirit  haunts 
my  dwelling,  that  my  children  should  die  ? '  Her  miserable 


NAXOS.  z^i 


wail  of  *  '12  TraiSaKi  fiov !  (O  my  little  child) '  haunted  me 
for  days.  Presently  in  walked  the  old  grandmother,  with 
a  sack  on  her  head,  to  join  in  the  lamentation  ;  and  as 
my  eyes  grew  accustomed  to  the  darkness  of  the  hovel  I 
became  aware  that  the  dead  baby  lay  on  a  box  in  one  cor- 
ner of  the  room,  tied  up  like  a  bundle  in  a  sheet.  Shortly 
after  my  arrival  the  hired  lamenter,  the  mcerologistay  en- 
tered and  commenced  her  howl  in  simple  poetic  words  : — 

*  To-day  the  heavens  are  darkened,  the  sun  is 
obscured ;  to-day  the  child  is  cut  off  from  his  parents. 
It  was  not  a  tree  that  you  could  fell  it,  it  was  not  a 
flower  that  it  should  fall ;  but  it  was  a  weak  young  tendril, 
which  twined  itself  around  their  hearts.' 

Piercing  and  heart-rending  were  the  shrieks  that  the 
parents  uttered  at  these  words,  and  as  they  subsided  the 
mcerologista  continuied  : — 

*  Would  that  I  could  descend  to  Hades,  and  gnash 
my  teeth,  for,  lo  !  the  worms  of  the  earth  to-day  have 
joy.  Whenever  I  think  of  thee,  my  darling,  whenever 
my  mind  ponders  on  this  grief,  as  the  sea  I  am  disturbed, 
as  a  wave  my  mind  is  troubled  ! ' 

By  these  pathetic  strains  the  grief  of  the  poor 
parents  was  nurtured  ;  they  tore  their  hair,  they  beat 
their  breasts  in  their  anguish  until  the  priests  came,  and 
a  table  was  spread  with  oranges,  figs,  and  mastic, 
which  refreshments  were  handed  round  to  all  present. 
Here  at  Komiak^  a  Christianised  form  of  the  old  classi- 
cal *  obolos  for  Charon,'  the  freight  money,  is  still  main- 
tained, and  still  bears  the  ancient  name  of  vavkov ;  it 
is  not  a  coin  as  in  olden  days,  but  a  little  wax  cross 
with  the  initial  letters  I.  X.  N.  (^\r)som  Xpi^ros  Nt/ica, 
Jesus  Christ  conquers)  engraved  thereon  ;  and  this  they 
put  on  the  closed  lips  of  the  deceased. 

Thus  is  it  that  Christianity  has  introduced  into  its 


364  THE  CYCLADES, 


ritual  pagan  rites.  If  you  go  into  any  cottage  in 
Komiak^,  and  question  the  people  about  Charon,  they 
will  tell  you  with  implicit  faith,  nothing  hesitating,  that 
he  lives  in  Hades,  a  frozen  spot  {irw^wyiivo  fj^^pos),  where 
he  hunts  and  chases  his  victims  on  a  spectre  horse  to 
prevent  their  escape.  Christianity  has  added  to  mytho- 
logy by  introducing  on  the  scenes  a  personage  called 
Charon's  mother,  doubtless  from  the  analogy  of  the 
virgin  mother  of  our  Lord,  who  intercedes  for  sinners  ;  so 
Charon's  mother  is  personified  as  a  sweet,  tender  woman 
who  intercedes  with  her  bloodthirsty  son,  and  checks  his 
murderous  hand,  saying,  *  Take  not  the  baby  from  its 
mother  ;  take  not  the  newly  married  bride  who  wears  her 
wedding  garland.'  ^  There  are  prayers  to  this  mother  of 
Charon  very  touching  and  pathetic  in  their  expressions. 
When  once  we  had  left  Komiak^  behind  us,  and 
crossed  the  mountain  barrier,  we  breathed  freely  again.  No 
more  fear  of  being  snowed  up  in  those  villages,  lost  away 
behind  the  Naxiote  mountains ;  and  as  we  approached 
the  sea-level  the  air  became  genial  and  warm  once  more. 
I  do  not  wonder  at  the  ancient  dislike  of  mountains — cold 
in  winter,  hot  in  summer,  and  shutting  out  those  sea 
breezes  which  temper  the  climate  in  every  season.  We 
stopped  for  refreshments  at  the  monastery  of  Phanero- 
m^ne,  where  the  old  monks  observe  a  rigid  discipline,  and 
do  not  admit  ladies  within  their  walls.  The  strict  rule  of 
Mount  Athos  is  maintained  here,  and  my  wife  contem- 
plated a  dreary  rest  on  the  doorstep ;  but  the  (ekonomos  was 
tender-hearted,  and  said  that  as  she  was  an  exceptional 
traveller  he  would  make  an  exception  in  her  favour.  It 
was  amusing  to  see  how  timid  the  monks  were  at  this 
intrusion ;  they  would  not  hand  her  anything,  but  always 
got  one  of  us  to  do  it ;  and  when  she  offered  to  shake 

*  Passow's  collection  of  ballads. 


NAXOS.  36s 


hands  on  leaving  they  just  looked  at  her  and  bowed 
stiffly.  They  have  in  their  possession  the  most  miracu- 
lous picture  in  Naxos,  which  was  found,  they  told  me,  in 
the  ground  by  the  sailors  of  a  ship  who  were  fleeing 
from  the  fall  of  Constantinople  in  1453,  and  who  were 
attracted  to  this  spot  by  a  mysterious  light. 

The  cekonomos  did  the  honours  of  the  place  during 
the  absence  of  his  superior,  showed  us  the  treasures,  and 
regaled  us  with  coffee,  nuts,  and  sweets. 

The  village  of  Engarrais  was  to  be  our  destination 
for  the  night,  the  chief  of  several  tiny  hamlets  on  a  plain 
to  the  west  of  the  island,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  hills. 
This  little  plain  is  one  large  6range  garden  divided  into 
lots  by  hedges  of  tall  reeds ;  these  reeds,  when  fully 
grown,  they  cut  down  and  use  for  making  the  ceilings 
of  their  flat-roofed  houses.  In  Lesbos  this  reed  is  still 
called  vdpOrjKu  (ydp6r)^)y  a  survival  of  the  old  word  for 
the  reed  by  which  Prometheus  brought  down  fire  from 
heaven.  One  can  understand  the  idea  well :  a  peasant 
to-day  who  wishes  to  carry  a  light  from  one  house  to 
another  will  put  it  into  one  of  these  reeds  to  prevent  its 
being  blown  out. 

The  best  house  in  the  hamlet  belonged  to  the  priest, 
so  accordingly  we  made  for  it;  and  he  received  us 
kindly.  Papa  Andreas  was  a  widower,  not  forty  yet, 
rotund  and  cheery,  and  he  told  us  that  evening,  with  a 
sigh,  how  priests  in  the  orthodox  Church  were  only  al- 
lowed to  marry  once,  and  this  one  marriage  must  take 
place  before  they  are  actually  ordained.  Papa  Andreas 
looked  as  if  he  wanted  a  wife  to  look  after  him  ;  his 
long  gown  was  green  and  greasy  with  age  and  neglect ; 
his  plait  of  hair,  which  well-regulated  Papas  usually 
fasten  up  with  hairpins,  was  generally,  to  be  seen 
hanging  down  his  back  like  a  pigtail,  or  if  not  it  was 


366  THE  CYCLADES. 


tucked  into  his  tall  hat,  and  stood  out  behind  like  the 
handle  of  a  teapot.  He  walked  about  on  tip-toe,  smiling 
benignly  upon  us,  and  his  ideas  of  the  duties  of  a  host 
knew  no  bounds.  His  eldest  daughter  wandered  list- 
lessly about  with  a  baby  in  her  arms  ;  she  was  married, 
and  a  mother,  and  only  sixteen.  *  This  is  not  my  first 
baby,'  she  said  on  our  noticing  it ;  *  I  had  another  before 
this,  which  was  far  more  beautiful.*  Here  it  is  the 
custom  for  children  to  marry  at  a  very  early  age,  and 
the  priest  said  that  when  his  wife  died  he  got  his 
daughter  married  as  soon  as  he  could,  that  she  might 
have  somebody  to  look  after  her. 

After  we  had  dined  most  of  the  inhabitants  of 
Engarrais  came  in,  and  the  priest  gave  a  little  dance  in 
our  honour.  One  of  their  local  dances,  here  called  the 
tirlct,  is  interesting,  being  danced  by  men  and  women  in 
a  semicircle,  with  their  hands  on  each  other's  shoulders. 
The  step  is  much  the  same  as  a  mazurka,  backwards  and 
forwards,  but  the  charm  of  it  is  the  singing,  which  the 
dancers  carry  on  in  parts  as  they  move  to  the  tune  of  a 
syravlion  and  drum  ;  this  dance  must  resemble  very  much 
the  ancient  opfjuos,  which,  as  Lucian  remarks,  presented  a 
chain  of  intertwined  manly  courage  and  female  modesty. 

The  next  dance  they  performed  for  us  was  very 
extraordinary  and  wild  in  its  character  ;  they  call  it  *  the 
dance  of  the  Kalkagdri,'  those  unearthly  spirits  of  which 
we  had  heard  so  much  at  Komiak^.  Two  active  men 
dance  it  together,  with  a  rapid  jig  step,  stooping  and 
gesticulating  at  each  other ;  one  bobs  down  as  he  dances 
and  passes  under  the  leg  of  the  other,  backwards,  forwards, 
round  and  round,  and  then  one  of  them  pretends  to  fall 
down  dead  on  the  floor,  whilst  his  companion  dances 
stealthily  around  him,  over  his  legs  and  body,  making 
comical  gestures  as  he  does  so ;  then  finally  raises  him 


NAXOS,  367 


up,  and  they  both  go  on  dancing  as  before.  No  wonder 
in  their  vivid  imagination  the  peasants  believe  that  the 
Kalkagdri  dance  this  weird,  unearthly  dance,  whereas  the 
lovely  winged  Nereids  are  supposed  to  be  for  ever  whirling 
round  and  round  in  the  graceful  syrtos. 

This  last  dance  seemed  to  excite  the  spirits  of  the 
men  for  gymnastic  exercises,  and  it  was  forthwith  pro- 
posed to  play  athletic  games  for  our  amusement,  such 
games  as  they  play  in  carnival  times  and  festivals  amongst 
themselves. 

The  first  game  they  played  was  a  rough  species  of 
morra  called  iroaa  (how  many  ?).  Six  men  were  playing  it, 
three  on  each  side  ;  the  three  on  one  side  were  the  beasts 
of  burden  {ra  ?wa),  that  is  to  say,  they  turned  their  backs 
to  the  other  three,  who  jumped  upon  them.  Having  done 
this  one  of  the  riders  puts  one  hand  over  the  eyes  of  his 
beast  and  the  other  in  the  air,  with  some  fingers  extended, 
and  cries  iroca  (how  many  T),  When  all  three  beasts  of 
burden  have  guessed  aright  they  change  places  with  their 
riders  and  guess  in  their  turn.  They  laugh  and  jest  a 
great  deal  at  this  game,  and  when  a  beast  of  burden  is 
stupid  he  receives  sundry  boxes  on  the  ears  and  general 
rough  treatment  from  his  rider.  This  game  has  its 
parallel  in  the  Italian  morra^  and  in  the  ancient  Greek 
haKTvkwv  iirdWa^c^y  though  not  so  boisterous,  if  we  may 
judge  from  a  vase  in  the  Munich  Museum. 

The  game  of  *  barrels '  is  a  most  acrobatic  one  ;  four 
of  the  strongest  men— round,  sturdy,  broad-shouldered 
men — played  it.  Two  of  these  went  down  on  their 
hands  and  knees,  head  to  head,  the  two  others,  folded  in 
each  other's  arms,  turned  a  somersault  on  the  backs  of 
the  others. 

'  Cock-fighting '  is  another  rough  game  :  a  man  went 
down  on  his  hands  and  knees,  and  the  two  combatants 


368  THE  CYCLADES. 

took  up  their  position  on  either  side  of  him,  and  with 
violent  struggles  attempted  to  get  through  to  the  other 
side  by  the  arch  which  the  man  had  made  with  his  back. 

*  The  packsaddle '  came  next :  a  man  knelt,  and  two 
others,  grasping  each  other's  feet,  fastened  themselves 
around  the  kneeling  man's  neck,  so  that  they  hung  like 
packsaddles  on  either  side.  Then  the  kneeler  arose  and 
whirled  them  round  at  a  furious  pace,  until  they  fell  off, 
amidst  the  laughter  of  the  spectators. 

*  The  bee '  was  a  clever,  sharp  game  ;  a  little  fat  man 
played  it  most  admirably.  Three  men  stood  in  a  row 
with  their  feet  touching,  the  fat  man  in  the  middle,  with 
a  loose  cap  on,  buzzed  into  his  hands  like  a  bee,  whilst 
the  other  two  stood  with  two  hands  in  the  air  and  the 
two  next  the  bee  ready  to  protect  themselves.  Then  the 
bee  buzzed  and  buzzed,  and  bobbed  and  bobbed,  until 
he  saw  an  opportunity  for  striking  one  of  his  opponents, 
the  game  being  to  knock  off  the  bee's  cap  before  he  bobs 
again  after  he  has  administered  a  blow.  Our  little  fat 
man  was  most  adroit  at  this  game;  his  hat  was  never 
knocked  off,  and  the  blows  he  administered  most  fre- 
quent ;  other  bees  who  took  his  place  were  by  no  means 
so  clever. 

They  kept  up  these  games  to  a  late  hour  that  night, 
and  the  priest's  house  was  the  scene  of  unwonted  fes- 
tivity ;  never  since  his  daughter's  marriage,  he  said,  had 
there  been  such  gaiety  in  Engarrais.  They  were  a  kindly 
people,  and  expressed  much  pleasure  at  seeing  English 
persons  for  the  first  time  amongst  them.  They  brought 
out  of  their  houses  everything  they  had  in  the  way  of 
embroidery  or  treasures  to  show  us,  and  amongst  other 
things  they  brought  us  the  remnants  of  a  curious  old 
costume,  called  the  KoXo^ia,  consisting  of  two  rows  of 
knitted  string,  which  was  stiff  enough  to  stick  out  at 


NAXOS,  369 


least  half  a  yard  behind  the  wearer ;  and  it  was  worn  by- 
all  the  women  of  Engarrais,  the  priest  told  us,  when  he 
was  a  boy,  underneath  their  dresses,  to  make  them  stand 
out  behind.  He  was  much  amused  when  told  that 
fashionable  English  ladies  wear  the  same  things  nowa- 
days, and  call  them  *  bustles.'  *  I  had  thought,'  was  his 
sage  reply,  *  that  the  English  were  more  civilised  than 
we  are,  and  yet  our  women  have  abandoned  these  foolish 
things  these  twenty  years.' 

On  quitting  Engarrais  next  day  we  passed  through 
one  of  those  charming  valleys  which  in  Naxos  they 
call  a  regma — long  narrow  hollows  amongst  the  cliffs 
formed  by  the  action  of  the  water.  A  dashing  stream 
ran  through  the  middle,  and  on  either  side  rose  fantastic 
rocks  ;  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  oleanders,  carob  trees, 
and  olives  one  might  have  fancied  one's  self  in  Scotland. 
This  gorge  led  towards  Melanes,  a  spot  of  fairylike 
beauty,  buried  in  a  narrow  gorge,  in  a  nest  of  olives, 
oranges,  pomegranates,  and  cypresses.  The  village  is 
conspicuous  for  a  tall,  dignified  Venetian  tower,  with 
machicolations  and  battlements  which  stand  in  its  midst, 
and  behind  are  the  fantastic  peaks  of  Koronon  rising  up 
like  the  background  in  one  of  Titian's  pictures. 

After  quitting  Melanes  we  soon  emerged  once  more 
into  the  plain  of  Naxos,  but  before  returning  to  the 
capital  we  made  a  little  ditour  southwards  to  Tripodes, 
near  which  place  we  heard  that  many  Hellenic  remains 
existed.  This  corner  of  the  island  is  called  the  deme, 
or  division,  of  Biblos — an  old  name  in  Naxos,  which  is 
thought  to  have  been  the  name  which  distinguished 
the  wine  called  Bt/8X?z/oy.  Close  to  Tripodes  are  many 
graves  and  remains,  which  go  by  the  name  of  IIoXi^i;?; ; 
another  instance  of  how  old  names  and  old  words  are 
still  preserved  up  in  the  mountains  of  Naxos.    Tripodes 

B  B 


370  THE  CYC  LADES, 


did  not  in  itself  repay  us — rather  the  reverse,  for  its 
position  is  bare,  in  a  gully  leading  down  from  the  moun- 
tains to  the  sea  :  the  houses  are  dirty,  and  our  host,  the 
demarch  of  the  place,  kept  a  most  disagreeable  wine- 
shop. Our  bedroom  was  of  the  worst,  without  a  door 
of  any  kind  ;  so  that  a  sheet  had  to  be  hung  up  over  it, 
the  existence  of  which  numerous  inquisitive  dogs  and 
cats  entirely  ignored.  But  here  occurred  an  instance  of 
Greek  character  for  which  I  was  not  prepared.  As  we 
were  laughing  at  dinner,  Gabalas,  the  jocose  muleteer, 
volunteered  to  give  us  a  lamb  if  we  would  return  to 
Chalki,  and  spend  Christmas  there.  I  told  him,  using  a 
Greek  expression,  that  his  promise  was  in  the  air;  where- 
at he  became  indignant,  and  said  he  would  go  all  the 
way  to  Chalki  to  fetch  it.  I  must  say  I  did  not  believe 
him,  and  said,  to  test  him,  that  if  he  went  for  the  lamb  he 
must  bring  a  handkerchief,  too,  which  we  had  seen  there, 
and  a  duplicate  of  which,  I  felt  sure,  could  not  be  found 
elsewhere.  To  our  intense  surprise,  he  set  off  in  about 
half  an  hour.  *  He  will  not  return,'  said  the  others  ;  but 
sure  enough  on  the  following  evening  Gabalas  turned 
up  with  the  lamb  and  the  handkerchief  at  Naxia,  having 
travelled  night  and  day.  If  all  Greeks  were  like  Gabalas 
the  country  might  have  a  future  yet. 

Next  morning  we  rode  off  to  an  Hellenic  tower,  called 
Plaka,  which  has  guarded  one  of  the  most  fertile  little 
plains  in  Naxos.  About  fifty  feet  of  this  tower  are  left 
standing,  and  one  window  ;  the  tower  was  nearly  square, 
being  ten  and  a  half  yards  by  twelve. and  a  half  yards, 
and  stands  on  a  gentle  eminence,  and  is  built,  as 
usual,  of  mortarless  stones,  long  and  flat.  Close  to 
the  tower  we  saw  several  graves  cut  in  the  rock,  and 
about  two  hundred  yards  from  the  tower  is  a  granite 
quarry,   from  whence   the   stones   to   build   the   tower 


NAXOS,  371 


were  evidently  cut,  for  we  saw  the  chisel-marks  on  a 
gigantic  stone  here  which  had  been  in  the  process 
of  being  cut,  and  which  corresponded  exactly  to  the 
dimensions  of  a  stone  I  had  measured  at  the  tower — 
namely,  two  yards  two  inches  long,  twenty-six  inches 
deep,  and  twelve  thick. 

There  came  on  just  then  a  terrific  storm  of  hail,  and  we 
were  unable  to  prosecute  our  journey  southwards,  and, 
to  our  regret,  we  had  to  leave  the  tombs  and  remains  of 
Polichne  and  Delion  unvisited,  for  our  return  to  Naxia 
was  imperative ;  bad  weather  and  storm  had  delayed  us 
enough  already.  Nowhere  except  in  the  mountains  of 
Naxos  did  we  suffer  much  from  rain  in  the  Cyclades ; 
but  at  Naxos  it  rained  in  torrents,  and  our  return  journey 
from  Tripodes  to  Naxia  was  made  in  one  of  these  drench- 
ing downpours.  We  stopped  for  a  time  in  a  shoemaker's 
shop  at  the  small  village  of  Leonides,  and  we  watched 
the  man  and  his  three  apprentices  hard  at  work^  He  said 
he  generally  had  three  apprentices  about  him,  and  he  ex- 
plained to  us  the  meaning  of  a  Naxiote  proverb  otherwise 
unintelligible,  *  When  the  quince  comes  they  sit  on  their 
stools.'  When  winter  is  coming  on,  and  the  time  for 
working  by  lamplight  has  come,  a  Naxiote  shoemaker 
presents  his  apprentices  each  with  a  quince  ;  during 
winter  evenings  they  work  longer  on  their  stools,  for 
there  is  less  to  do  out  of  doors,  and  perhaps  less  induce- 
ment to  amuse  themselves. 

We  did  a  lot  of  business  as  we  sat  in  the  shoemaker's 
shop,  for  we  bought  a  turkey  to  ensure  us  against  famine 
in  the  capital  on  the  morrow,  Greek  Christmas  Day,  and 
we  became  the  happy  possessors  of  some  rich  red  Cretan 
embroidery  which  a  peasant  woman  brought  for  us  to 
see.  That  evening  found  us  again  in  our  old  quarters  at 
Naxia,  awaiting  the  steamer. 

B  B  2 


372  THE  CYCLADES, 


CHAPTER   XV. 

PAROS. 

On  landing  at  Paroikia,  the  chief  town  of  Paros,  you 
immediately  come  in  contact  with  the  speciality  of  the 
place :  the  little  jetty  on  which  you  land  is  made  of 
marble,  marble  pillars  for  mooring  boats  to  are  jotted 
here  and  there,  and  you  realise  before  long  that  Paros  is 
nothing  but  one  huge  block  of  marble  covered  with  a 
thin  coating  of  soil. 

In  ages  long  gone  by  these  central  islands  of  the 
Cycladic  group — Naxos,  Paros,  Antiparos,  and  the  unin- 
habited islets  of  Despotiko  and  Strongylo — must  have 
been  united  ;  in  the  straits  between  them  are  evidences  of 
habitations,  and  in  historical  times  from  their  proximity 
they  have  collectively  been  called  Paronaxia  ;  and  Paros, 
with  her  excellent  harbours  and  her  rich  vein  of  marble, 
was  always  considered  the  chief.  In  Turkish  times  the 
Kapitan  Pasha  always  anchored  off  Cape  Drio  of  Paros 
to  receive  the  annual  tribute  of  the  neighbouring  islands  ; 
Venetian  fleets  put  into  the  harbours  of  Naoussa  and 
Paroikia,  and  cut  down  all  the  wood  that  they  found 
within  reach  ;  the  coves  and  caves  of  Antiparos  were  the 
favourite  haunts  of  pirates :  and  the  result  of  all  this  has 
^  been  to  make  of  Paros  one  of  the  most  dreary,  desolate 
'    islands  of  the  group. 

The  Athenians  during  their  lordship  levied  from  Paros 
twice  as  much  tribute  as  they  did  from  Naxos,  Andros, 


PAROS.  373 

and  the  other  larger  islands ;  and  in  travelling  through 
Paros  I  found  traces  of  a  vast  population  in  former  ages. 
Extensive  graveyards  of  the  prehistoric,  or  so-called 
Carian,  period,  and  of  the  Hellenic  and  Roman  periods^ 
are  dotted  all  over  the  island ;  so  that  we  may  safely 
presume  that  Paros  was  a  great  centre  of  life  in  ancient 
days,  and  that  this  activity  was  due  mainly  to  its  wealth 
in  marble. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  whatsoever  that  Paroikia  is 
built  on  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  Pariote  capital ;  the 
place  is  teeming  with  remains — inscriptions,  scraps  of 
sculpture,  and  decorations  are  let  into  almost  every  house 
— but  as  it  is  at  present  Paroikia  is  a  horrid  place,  for  it  lies 
so  low.  An  acre  or  more  close  to  the  landing-place  is  a 
salt  marsh,  called  Plaka,  productive  of  malarious  fevers  in 
the  summer  heats ;  and  the  town  is  filthy,  though  the 
sea  occasionally  comes  in  and  washes  the  streets  for  the 
inhabitants.  The  valleys  and  hills  around  the  town  are 
dotted  with  tiny  white  churches,  as  is  so  often  the  case 
in  unhealthy  fever-stricken  spots ;  one  of  these,  which 
was  erected  by  a  grateful  sailor  in  a  niche  by  the  coast, 
and  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Theologian,  rivals  any  I 
ever  saw  in  smallness,  being  only  about  two  yards  square. 
Convents,  too — for  the  most  part  disestablished  and 
converted  into  granaries  and  stores — abound  all  over  the 
island  ;  there  is  one  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Rainy, 
another  to  our  Lady  of  the  Lake,  another  to  our 
Lady  of  the  Unwholesome  Place,  another  to  St. 
George  of  the  Gooseberry,  a  rare  fruit  in  the  East, 
and,  most  extraordinary  name  of  all,  there  is  a  church 
dedicated  to  the  Drunken  St.  George.  Here,  I  thought,  ^ 
must  be  a  true  descendant  of  Bacchus ;  an  instance  of 
how  the  Greeks  still  love  to  deify  the  coarser  passions ; 
and  on  enquiry  I  was  told  that  on  November  3,  the  day 


374  THE  CYC  LADES. 


\ 


of  the  anniversary  of  St.  George's  death,  the  Pariotes 
usually  tap  their  new-made  wine  and  get  drunk  ;  they 
have  a  dance  and  a  scene  of  revelry  in  front  of  this  church, 
which  is  hallowed  by  the  presence  of  the  priests.  Down 
by  the  coast  is  the  sailors'  church  of  St  Nicholas  the 
Seafarer  (@a'ka<raLT7)s).  It  was  the  eve  of  St  Nicholas 
on  which  we  landed  on  Paros,  and  this  little  edifice  was 
crowded  to  excess  with  worshippers,  and  was  prettily 
decorated  with  flowers  ;  on  the  floor  were  strewn  sprigs 
of  myrtle  and  sweet-smelling  herbs,  and  as  we  wandered 
through  the  dirty  streets  we  found  the  wineshops  were 
gay  with  feasters. 

Into  one  of  these  we  entered,  to  hear  four  youths 
singing  to  the  tune  of  an  instrument  which  was  new  to  us ; 
they  called  it  a  ^ova-ov/ciov.  It  was  a  long  sort  of  guitar, 
with  six  strings  and  eighteen  notes,  and  prettily  inlaid. 
They  sang  us  a  love-song  about  its  being  forty-five  Sun- 
days and  sixty-two  Tuesdays  since  they  had  seen  their 
dearly  beloved,  until  she  came  to  church  on  St.  Nicholas' 
Eve,  with  two  smart  handkerchiefs  around  her  neck,  and 
set  their  hearts  beating  fast  Greek  love-songs  are  sim- 
plicity itself,  some  rather  touching,  but  for  the  most  part 
silly  ;  yet  these  songs  are  nothing  to  the  tameness  of  the 
jokes  at  which  they  laugh ;  and  no  island  comes  in  for  a 
larger  share  of  puns  than  Paros,  from  the  fact  that  />arOy 
the  patois  for  *  I  take,'  and  Paro,  the  island,  give  ample 
scope.  They  are  both  pronounced  as  if  they  were  writ- 
ten Baro,  and  they  say,  *  From  Paro  1  do  not  wish  to 
take  either  fowl,  or  egg,  or  any  female  thing.*  This  pun 
on  Paro  is  repeated  over  and  over  again  in  the  little  dis- 
tichs  and  trite  sayings  of  the  islands. 

Another  curious  instance  of  insular  wit  is  shown  by 
a  popular  interpretation  of  the  origin  of  the  names  of  the 
islands,  which,  though  it  begins  well  at  first,  gets  exces- 


PAROS.  375 

sively  wild  as  the  production  goes  on.  It  runs  as  follows  : 
'Andros  is  derived  from  dvSpeiOfiivv  (valiant),  Tenos 
from  ri/jLrffjbivTj  (honoured),  Paros  from  irapovaLa  (pre- 
sence), Syra  from  yfrsipa  (a  louse),  Mykonos  from  xaalSa 
(scurf  on  the  head),  and  Zea  and  Thermia  from  TroXX^ 
T^  srrf  (many  years  to  you).* 

We  were  lodged  comfortably  enough  at  Paroikia  in 
a  good  house,  with  a  balcony  facing  the  sea,  belonging 
to  an  old  widow  lady,  whose  husband  had  been  a  sea 
captain,  and  who  took  care  to  tell  us  that  she  was  related 
to  the  great  Mavrojenes  of  Paros,  who  had  been  hos- 
podar  of  Wallachia.  She  apologised  most  humbly  for  not 
giving  us  her  best  room,  but  the  fact  was  a  sister  of  hers, 
a  nun,  had  just  arrived  from  the  nunnery,  and  nothing 
could  exceed  the  honour  and  respect  paid  to  this  old 
woman— poor  thing!  she  had  hip-disease.  And  though 
the  nunnery  was  only  two  miles  from  Paroikia  she  had 
only  twice  paid  a  visit  to  the  town  since  she  was  seven 
years  old,  and  now  she  was  sixty.  No  wonder  that  her 
advent  quite  eclipsed  ours.  She  was  propped  up  on  the 
sofa  and  received  visitors  all  the  evening,  amongst  others 
ourselves ;  and  the  moment  she  saw  us  she  begged  for 
some  English  candle-grease,  for,  she  said,  nothing  did 
her  poor  hip  so  much  good  as  to  rub  it  with  that. 

We  had  to  superintend  the  cooking  of  our  own 
dinner,  and  our  supplies  were  not  only  exceedingly  scanty, 
but  were  reduced  by  a  foolish  mistake  of  mine.  Seeing 
a  man  staring  at  us  as  we  ate  I  thought  he  must  belong 
to  the  household,  and  asked  him  for  another  plate.  This 
he  interpreted  into  an  invitation  to  share  our  meal,  and 
accordingly  arrived,  not  only  with  a  plate>  but  with 
knife  and  fork  and  chair,  ready  to  discuss  with  us  our 
solitary  woodcock.  Perhaps  he  was  a  Mavrojenes  and  a 
descendant  of  the  prince  of  Wallachia ;  at  all  events,  we 


376  THE  CYCLADES, 


never  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  it.  Ross,  in  his 
travels  with  King  Otho,  tells  us  an  amusing  story  of  this 
family  forty  years  ago.  When  the  king  visited  Paros 
two  brothers  Mavrojenes  were  deputed  to  receive  the 
sovereign,  being,  as  they  were,  of  such  illustrious  descent 
So  accordingly  they  did  what  they  thought  to  be  the 
right  thing — they  hired  two  sturdy  Pariotes  and  told 
them  to  prop  up  his  majesty  on  either  side  as  he  walked. 
They  performed  this  office  with  such  zeal  that  poor  King 
Otho  could  hardly  get  on  at  all,  and  with  difficulty  per- 
suaded his  subjects  that  in  Europe  kings  are  allowed  to 
exercise  their  own  limbs.  King  George  has  not  been 
here  yet,  I  believe,  but  I  do  not  think  he  will  find  that 
much  advance  in  civilisation  has  been  made. 

The  great  sight  in  Paros  is  the  Church  of  Our  Lady 
of  the  Hundred  Gates  {kicaT0VTaTrv\uLvrj),  about  five 
minutes'  walk  from  Paroikia.  It  is  by  far  the  finest 
church  in  the  iEgean  Sea — in  all  Greece,  I  believe — 
for  everyone  asked  us  if  we  had  seen  it,  as  if  it  was 
\  St  Peter's  at  Rome.  Externally  it  does  not  present  a 
very  attractive  appearance,  being  surrounded  by  a  white- 
washed wall  with  innumerable  windows,  so  that  I  sus- 
pect the  hundred  gates  refer  to  windows,  for  there  are 
certainly  only  five  gates ;  and  it  is  just  possible  there 
may  be  so  many  windows,  though  I  did  not  count  them. 
Inside  this  wall  is  a  garden,  and  round  the  garden  a 
cloister ;  the  celebrated  church  is  opposite  to  you  as 
you  enter.  On  either  side  of  the  portal  two  ancient 
marble  satyrs  support  the  jambs,  beyond  these  there  is 
nothing  outside  of  any  attraction. 

You  enter  a  narthex  with  tombs  of  mediaeval  worthies 
of  Paros  around  it  Originally  the  narthex  was  intended 
for  catechumens  and  the  second  order  of  penitents ;  by 
degrees,  however,  it  was  considered  the  befitting  place 


PAROS.  Z77 

for  apostates,  murderers,  and  women,  individuals  who 
were  not  supposed  to  be  good  enough  to  enter  the 
church.  This  custom  is  now  obsolete,  except  in  monas- 
teries, where  the  monks  are  supposed  to  be  voluntary 
penitents.  They  say  many  of  their  *  hours  *  in  the  narthex, 
and  naughty  people  who  are  late  for  church  stay  there 
so  as  not  to  disturb  divine  service. 

The  Church  of  the  Hundred  Gates  is  noted  for  its  great 
number  of  adjoining  chapels,  unusual  in  Greek  churches,  v 
One  of  these  is  constructed  out  of  an  old  temple,^  the 
pillars  from  which  are  considerably  older  than  the  date 
assigned  to  the  church,  which,  tradition  says,  the  Empress 
St  Helena  founded  by  roofing  over  these  ruined  pillars 
of  the  aforesaid  temple.  Since  then  numerous  additions 
have  been  made,  and  tradition  further  tells  us  that  the 
big  church,  nave,  choir,  and  sanctuary  were  designed  by 
a  pupil  of  the  architect  who  built  St.  Sophia  at  Constan- 
tinople ;  and  later  additions  still,  during  the  Prankish 
occupation,  have  made  of  this  church  a  perfect  Babel  of 
architecture.  The  tempelon,  or  iconostasis^  that  is  to 
say,  the  screen  which  in  all  Greek  churches  divides  the 
choir  from  the  sanctuary  {I3rjfjui)y  because  the  holy 
mysteries  must  be  veiled  from  the  eyes  of  the  laity,  is 
excessively  elaborate  with  rich  gilded  work  and  intricate 
carving.  Behind  this  the  sanctuary  is  formed  for  the 
double  purpose  of  divine  worship  and  for  a  consistory.  In 
the  circular  apse  are  eight  rows  of  stone  seats,  like  the 
seats  of  an  ancient  Greek  theatre,  with  a  stone  throne  \-' 
{avvOpovos)  for  the  bishop  in  the  centre,  approached  by 
six  steps.     Here  he  sits  when  he  presides  at  a  synod,  and , 

*  There  are  six  pillars,  eight  feet  high,  and  fluted  with  an  unequal 
number  of  flutings  (twenty-one  to  twenty-three)  and  with  capitals,  of  which 
the  lower  sides  of  the  four  comers  of  the  plinth  are  decorated  with  leaves 
in  relief,  in  the  form  of  lilies. 


378  THE  CYCLADES. 


just  before  this  throne  is  an  old  fluted  pillar  on  which 
the  lamp  burns  when  the  bishop  reads  the  liturgy,  and 
by  the  side  of  each  stone  seat  are  holes  where  the  priests 
place  their  processional  lamps  when  sitting  down. 

Under  the  altar  is  kept  an  old  heathen  altar,  with 
rams*  heads  and  garlands  around  it,  and  over  the  high, 
altar  is  a  massive  marble  badacchino  with  a  dome  made  r^ 

-  A 

out  of  one  huge  block  ;  this,  they  told  me,  the  Saracens 
had  once  tried  to  take  away  and  had  broken  it  in  their 
vain  attempt ;  for  it  is  six  feet  in  diameter  and  a  truly 
enviable  piece  of  marble.  Under  this  altar  is  the  sacred 
spring  (dylaa-fjui)  which  cures,  they  say,  many  invalid 
pilgrims  on  the  annual  festival  day  (August  1 5). 

The  choir  and  nave  are  fine,  and  are  supported  by 
some  good  specimens  of  Byzantine  pillars.  On  a  stone 
in  the  floor  is  the  mark  of  a  footstep  said  to  have  been 
made  by  St.  Theoctista,  and  her  spindle  is  also  kept  here 
as  a  sacred  relic.  Close  to  this  spot  is  a  chapel  which 
was  once  set  aside  for  Roman  Catholic  worship  during 
the  Latin  occupation  ;  but  this  ceased  to  be  the  case 
with  the  extinction  of  the  Latin  element.  Some  of  the 
chapels,  with  their  old  frescoes  fast  decaying  with  damp 
and  green  mould,  attest  to  the  bygone  glories  of  the  place. 
In  the  dark  baptistry  there  is  a  splendid  cross-formed  font 
for  immersion,  covered  with  mosaics  {opus  Alexandrinum),  ? 
in  the  centre  of  which  stands  a  pillar  for  the  light,  and 
there  are  three  Greek  crosses  at  the  side ;  this  font  is  now 
only  used  for  adult  baptisms.  There  are  chapels  dedi- 
cated to  the  worship  of  St.  Anargyris,  St.  Philip,  the 
Holy  Ghost — all  covered  with  weird  frescoes.  Such  is  the 
great  Church  of  the  Hundred  Gatesof  Paros,an  interesting 
though  conglomerated  relic  of  past  ages,  and  still  amongst 
the  inhabitants  of  these  islands  it  is  an  object  of  the 
greatest  veneration,  second  only  to  the  altar  of  the  great 


PAROS.  'y?9 

miracle-working  Madonna  of  Tenos.  *  By  the  Hundred 
Gates  of  Paros  may  I  win  him  whom  I  love  ! '  says  the 
love-sick  maiden.  Once,  says  a  legend,  a  young  man 
challenged  the  Lady  of  the  Hundred  Gates  to  a  playing 
contest  on  the  syravlion^  and  went  accordingly  to  the 
church  to  play  ;  but  the  Madonna  took  no  notice  of  his 
challenge.  Just  as  he  was  getting  up  to  go  he  acci- 
dentally knocked  over  the  candlestick,  and  broke  his 
flute  ;  in  this  way  did  the  Madonna  prove  her  superiority 
and  humbled  the  man — a  somewhat  mild  modern 
edition  of  Apollo  and  Marsyas. 

Outside  the  gates  of  this  church  have  been  placed  in 
rows  some  large  marble  sarcophagi,  which  were  dis- 
covered by  the  lately  established  Paros  Mining  Company 
in  making  a  tram-line  down  from  the  mine  to  their 
works  by  the  harbour.  In  doing  this  they  fortunately 
cut  right  through  the  old  necropolis  of  Paros,  just  a  little 
to  the  north-east  of  the  Church  of  the  Hundred  Gates, 
and  the  products  of  a  very  casual  excavation  have  re- 
sulted in  many  valuable  *  finds  * — epigraphs,  sculptures, 
rings,  and  divers  island  gems.  The  sarcophagi  have 
excellent  workmanship  on  them — one,  two  yards  and 
three-quarters  long,  has  six  beautiful  plaques  on  one  side 
only ;  one  representing  a  horse,  a  tree  with  a  serpent 
twined  round  it,  a  man,  and  a  boy.  The  necropolis  of 
Paros  would  undoubtedly  repay  a  thorough  excavation, 
considering  the  things  they  have  found,  the  wealth  of 
the  island  in  former  ages — for  Paros,  according  to  the 
list  discovered  on  the  acropolis,  paid  twice  as  much  tri- 
bute as  any  other  of  the  Cyclades — and  the  monopoly 
of  marble  which  she  had.  Paros,  moreover,  we  know, 
was  the  home  of  many  celebrated  sculptors,  such  as 
Agorakrites,  the  pupil  of  Phidias,  who  sculptured  the 
Nemesis  of  Rhamontes.  Archilochus,  the  poet,  however, 


38o  THE  CYCLADES. 


is  perhaps  the  most  celebrated  Pariote.     From  Paros 

\came  the  celebrated  chronological  monument,  now  at 
Oxford,  which  gives  us  so  much  information  about  Greek 
^  history  from  the  time  of  Cecrops  to  263  B.C.  Con- 
sequently Paros  ought  to  be  the  happiest  of  hunting- 
grounds  for  the  archaeologist ;  enterprise  and  money  is 
all  that  is  wanted,  and  neither  of  them  is  to  be  found 
amongst  the  Greeks. 

A  walk  through  Paroikia  as  it  is  to-day  gives  ample 
proof  of  what  the  town  once  was.  Part  of  the  old  city 
wall  is  now  in  the  sea,  for  during  the  lapse  of  centuries 
sad  havoc  has  been  made  by  the  encroachments  of  the 
waves ;  but  the  old  acropolis,  on  a  gentle  eminence,  is 
still  a  prominent  object ;  and  the  mediaeval  castle  which 
crowns  it  is  an  everlasting  monument  of  the  Vandalism 
of  the  Prankish  lords  of  Paros,  for  its  walls  have  been 
built  out  of  the  drums  of  *many  pillars,  placed  with 
their  circles  outwards,  in  rows,  alternately  with  flat  black 
stones  and  the  seats  of  the  old  theatre.  The  effect  is 
curious,  and  certainly  has  the  merit  of  originality ;  but 
to  the  archaeologist,  who  here  sees  temples,  public  build- 
ings, and  theatres  destroyed  and  turned  to  so  base  a  use, 
the  sight  is  one  of  extreme  anguish. 

The  old  town  of  Paros  must  have  been  of  considerable 
extent :  all  the  flat  space  between  the  sea  and  the  hills 
bears  testimony  to  having  been  built  over ;  there  are 
the  remains  of  an  old  aqueduct  which  brought  water  to 
the  town  ;  there  are  some  half-dozen  of  the  steps  still 
left  which  formerly  went  down  from  the  acropolis  to 
the  sea ;  and  the  schoolmaster  of  Paroikia,  who  was  our 
guide,  told  me  that  thirty-five  years  ago  he  remembered 
that  this  flight  of  steps  was  intact.  At  the  top  of  the 
steps  now  stands  a  little  church,  dedicated  to  St.  Con^ 
stantine,  with  a  cross  of  brilliant  yellow  tiles  over  the 


PAROS.  381 

door  facing  the  sea,  inside  of  which  are  several  remnants 
of  the  past. 

The  flat  space,  or  Plaka,  on  which  the  sea  is  making 
such  inroads,  must  one  day  have  extended  beneath  the 
acropolis  right  away  to  a  black  promontory  called 
Kopteri,  so  called  because  it  looks  so  sharp  and  knife- 
like. This  Plaka  was,  of  course,  once  the  quay  of  Faros, 
the  foundations  of  which,  and  the  houses  which  once 
stood  thereon,  are  now,  in  many  cases,  buried  under 
the  sea. 

Our  guide  now  conducted  us  along  the  sea-coast, 
past  pretty  houses  with  balconies  and  trailing  vines,  and 
past  picturesque  fishing-boats  and  nets  prepared  for  the 
morrow ;  and  at  every  step  we  came  across  some  new 
relic  of  the  past.  Presently  we  ascended  a  gentle  emi- 
nence, and  saw  all  that  is  left  of  the  temple  of  iEsculapius. 
Under  the  foundation  is  a  reservoir  of  water,  once  doubt- 
less the  stream  which  was  considered  to  have  healing 
properties,  and  which  was  given  to  the  suppliant  sick. 
Unfortunately  there  are  but  few  remains  left — all  one  can 
see  now  is  the  size  and  extent  of  the  foundations.  Here 
they  found  a  beautiful  statue,  our  schoolmaster  told  us, 
just  before  the  revolution,  which  the  Turks  appropriated. 
Into  the  wall  of  a  neighbouring  tenement  was  let  a  fine 
marble  bas-relief  representing  a  sheep  being  led  to  the 
slaughter.  This  tenement  was  inhabited  for  the  time 
being  by  a  party  of  gipsies,, whose  dancing  bear  was 
tied  to  a  post  close  to  the  marble  sheep,  and  formed  a 
striking  contrast 

Our  energetic  guide  then  led  us  round  by  a  house, 
which  had  an  inscription  let  into  it  about  *  fruit-bearing 
Demeter.'  *  Here,'  said  he,  as  he  pointed  to  certain 
doubtful  ruins  around,  *  was  the  temple  of  Demeter,  and 
here  it  was  that  Miltiades  broke  his  leg.*    And  as  we 


382  THE  CYC  LADES, 


stood  there,  gazing  at  some  shapeless,  ruins  he  gave  us 
chapter  and  verse  from  Herodotus.  I  suspect  every 
Pariote  urchin  who  comes  within  the  clutches  of  this 
schoolmaster  is  made  to  learn  this  passage  by  heart. 
His  first  remarks  were  explanatory : — 

*  Paros,  you  must  know,  in  those  days  showed  shock- 
ing Asiatic  tendencies,  just  as  if,  for  the  sake  of  example, 
Paros  had  favoured  the  Turks  in  the  war  of  inde- 
pendence ;  but,  by  the  holy  St  George  !  Paros  has  had 
enough  of  Asiatics  since  those  days,  and  knows  better 
now.  Well,  Athens  told  Miltiades  to  go  and  lay  siege 
to  Paros,  demanding  a  tribute  of  one  hundred  talents  ; 
and  after  laying  siege  to  it  for  twenty  days  the  general 
despaired  of  ever  taking  the  town  by  force,  so  he  had 
recourse  to  strategy.  A  certain  woman,  who  held  an 
inferior  post  in  the  temple  of  Demeter  and  Persephone, 
which  was  just  on  this  spot  here,  sir,  was  a  captive  from 
the  mainland,  and  she  wished  to  get  home  ;  so  she  went 
secretly  to  Miltiades  and  bid  him  come  to  the  temple 
of  Demeter  and  speak  to  her  there  if  he  wished  to  take 
the  city.  At  nightfall  he  went  to  the  temple,  which 
lay  on  the  hillside  outside  the  c\\y  wall,  but  he  could  not 
open  the  gate ;  so  he  climbed  the  wall  and  entered  the 
temple,  which,  you  know,  sir,  was  like  one  of  the  ascetic 
nunneries  they  have  to-day,  and  where  men  are  never 
admitted.  When  he  reached  the  temple  door  Miltiades 
was  seized  with  a  mighty  dread  lest  he  should  see  some 
Eleusinian  mystery,  which  the  gods  forbade  men  to  look 
upon,  and  be  cursed  for  ever ;  so  he,  in  his  fear,  ran  off, 
and  in  leaping  down  from  the  wall  broke  his  thigh,  and 
with  difficulty  got  back  to  his  ship.' 

The  poor  little  man  grew  quite  excited  as  he  related 
this  story.  He  evidently  had  no  shade  of  doubt  as  to  the 
veracity  of  the  father  of  history  ;  he  had  in  his  mind's  eye 


PAROS.  2^Z3 

pictured  Miltiades  writhing  in  agony  on  this  very  spot ; 
at  all  events,  the  facts  of  the  case,  as  stated  by 
Herodotus,  are  corroborated  by  the  inscription,  and  by 
ruins  being  found  on  the  hillside  outside  the  city  wall, 
where  approach  from  the  sea  was  easy. 

The  rest  of  the  afternoon  we  spent  in  wandering 
through  the  somewhat  uninteresting  streets  of  Paroikia, 
admiring  the  little  bits  of  carvings  and  bas-reliefs  we 
saw  at  every  turn,  and  more  especially  a  fine  tomb 
which  was  let  into  the  wall  over  a  doorway  in  a  house 
in  the  main  street.  On  the  next  morning  early  we 
started  for  Antiparos,  a  desolate  ride  of  two  hours  to 
the  point  where  the  ferry  boat  takes  passengers  across. 
About  half-way  to  this  point  we  passed  two  good  houses 
by  the  roadside  with  shady  gardens — quite  little  oases  in 
the  surrounding  barrenness — where  live  the  descendants 
of  two  families  once  well  known  in  these  parts — the 
Crispis  and  the  Veniers,  both  of  Venetian  origin,  and  both 
of  which  held  princely  sway  at  one  time  in  these  islands. 
Over  the  doors  were  the  lozenges  with  the  arms  of  each. 
And  they  say  these  Italians  transplanted  on  to  Greek  soil 
are  very  haughty  and  proud  still,  but  somehow  the  soil 
does  not  seem  to  suit  them  ;  generation  after  generation 
their  resources  become  impoverished  and  their  status 
diminished 

On  our  return  from  Antiparos  we  spent  another  night 
at  Paroikia  under  the  same  roof,  before  commencing 
our  researches  in  highland  Paros.  We  accomplished  our 
journey  up  to  the  marble  quarries  with  the  greatest  of 
eas^  by  the  little  mule  railway  they  have  made  from 
the  mountain  to  the  shore,  to  facilitate  the  removal  of 
their  marble.  So  we  sent  on  our  mules  and  baggage 
before  us,  and  drove  up  to  the  mines  with  the  manager 
along  the  iron  way,  iTnroa-i^BrjpoBpofios,  as  the  inhabitants 


384  THE  CYC  LADES, 


call  it  It  seems  a  formidable  word  to  look  at,  but  Greek 
scholars  will  recognise  it  sufficiently  to  heave  a  sigh  at 
the  base  use  to  which  the  three  classical  words  of  which 
it  is  composed  have  been  turned. 

Every  credit  is  due  to  the  enterprise  of  the  new 
Belgian  company  which  have  lately  contracted  to  supply 
the  world  with  Parian  marble.  Down  by  the  harbour 
they  have  erected  costly  works,  and  have  got  all  the 
latest  improvements  in  machinery  ;  but  unfortunately  at 
first  when  they  attacked  the  marble  quarries  on  Mount 
Marpessa  they  worked  at  a  wrong  vein,  so  that  a  new 
shaft  had  to  be  opened  ;  and  only  now,  after  the  expendi- 
ture of  a  vast  amount  of  toil  and  money,  have  they  at 
last  got  into  the  vein  of  genuine  lychnites — that  brilliant 
sparkling  marble  so  prized  by  the  ancients  for  statuary 
and  sculpture  of  every  sort. 

It  would  have  been  a  long  ascent  on  muleback  to 
the  convent  of  St  Minas,  close  to  which  are  the  various 
holes  into  the  bowels  of  Mount  Marpessa  ;  as  it  was,  we 
were  only  an  hour  in  making  the  ascent,  and  had  a  very 
pleasant  journey.  Not  that  Paros  is  in  the  least 
degree  pretty — on  this  northern  side  it  is  almost  the 
ugliest  of  the  islands — but  it  was  pleasant  to  sit  and 
enjoy  the  ever-changing  distant  views,  and  see  the 
shepherds  run  out  of  their  mandras  and  gaze  with  eyes 
and  mouth  wide  open  at  the  terrible  innovation  which 
has  actually  found  its  way  to  the  Cyclades.  We  saw 
quantities  of  beehives,  too,  constructed  in  the  sloping 
ground — ^just  rows  of  holes,  lined  with  slabs,  where  the 
bees  fix  their  combs  ;  for  there  is  no  need  here  of  straw 
hives  or  our  cunning  northern  appliances  for  keeping 
them  warm  in  winter.  Yet  it  was  cold  enough  up  by 
the  quarries  :  a  biting  wind  was  blowing  from  the  north, 
which  made  us  glad  to  dive  into  the  shafts,  and  made 


PAROS.  385 

us  shiver  when  we  came  out  again.  There  is  much 
debris  of  marble  before  the  mines,  and  there  are  several 
holes  into  the  mountain  side,  all  of  which  were  opened 
in  ancient  times.  Into  one  of  these  we  descended  by  a 
steep  shaft,  by  the  aid  of  miners'  lamps.  Very  soon  we 
were  able  to  recognise  the  old  chisel-marks,  and  in  pur- 
suing this  shaft  it  was  that  the  modern  Parian  Marble 
Company  made  their  great  mistake.  To  the  right  of 
us  and  to  the  left  of  us  we  passed  various  channels 
which  the  ancients  had  worked  and  exhausted  the  vein, 
and  when  we  came  to  the  depth  of  over  two  hundred 
feet  we  saw  a  huge  block  of  marble  just  as  they  had  left 
it  ready  to  be  hauled  up.  Their  plan  undoubtedly  was 
to  work  all  round  the  block  they  wished  to  get  up, 
making  it  just  small  enough  to  pass  up  the  shaft,  and 
up  which  they  must  have  dragged  it  by  an  arrangement 
of  pulleys  and  props  which  we  do  not  understand  now. 
In  many  parts  the  shaft  has  fallen  in,  for  the  pillars  left 
to  support  it  have  given  way,  owing  to  the  weight 
above  them.  All  these  things  were  put  to  rights  by  the 
modern  company  at  an  outlay  of  much  money,  only  to 
find  when  they  reached  the  bottom,  and  got  all  the 
rubbish  cleared  away,  that  the  vein  they  were  following 
was  all  but  exhausted  ;  so  they  had  to  sink  another 
shaft,  and  at  length  their  efforts  have  been  crowned  with 
success.  By  a  difficult  passage  lately  constructed  these 
two  shafts  have  been  joined  ;  along  this  we  crawled 
and  came  up  by  the  other  one.  The  manager  told  me 
that,  according  to  his  calculation,  the  vein  of  good 
marble  extends  one  hundred  and  fifty  metres  into  the 
mountain. 

Thirty  years  ago,  when  Ross  went  down  the  mine 
with  King  Otho  and  Queen  Amalia,  he  said  they  had  to 
crawl  on  their  hands  and  knees  to  get  down  a  very  little 

CC 


386  THE  CYCLADES. 


way,  and  his  majesty  had  to  take  off  his  epaulettes  to 
enable  him  to  proceed  at  all ;  the  queen,  as  she  squeezed 
her  way  through,  loosened  some  stones,  which  came 
upon  her  and  terrified  her  exceedingly.  On  hearing  her 
screams  the  king  hurried  back,  and  in  this  dark  mine 
the  bystanders  were  witnesses  of  a  royal  embrace  of  the 
tenderest  nature. 

There  is  a  third  shaft  parallel  to  the  other  two  which 
appears  to  have  been  of  considerable  importance  in 
ancient  times,  for  close  to  the  entrance  is  the  well-known 
bas-relief  presented,  as  the  inscription  tells  us,  by  Adamas 
to  the  nymphs :  it  is  a  wedding  scene  carved  on  the  bare 
rock,  the  human  banquet  is  going  on  below,  whilst  in 
an  upper  storey  the  gods  are  having  another,  at  which 
Bacchus  is  presiding.  Some  Vandals,  of — happily  for 
themselves — unknown  nationality,  have  removed  the 
central  figures  from  the  lower  banquet ;  so  the  manager 
of  the  mines,  with  commendable  discretion,  has  had  the 
whole  bas-relief  carefully  covered  over  with  wood  to 
protect  it,  which  he  kindly  ordered  to  be  removed  for 
our  inspection. 

The  descent  into  the  bowels  of  Mount  Marpessa  and 
the  subsequent  climb  were  productive  of  an  appetite  of 
considerable  dimensions  ;  so,  before  starting  on  our 
mule  ride  to  Leukis,  we  lunched  at  a  shanty  the  manager 
of  the  mines  has  built  for  himself  close  by— pleasant 
enough,  I  dare  say,  in  summer,  but  miserable,  with  the 
four  winds  of  heaven  howling  around,  in  winter. 

Leukis  is  considered  the  gem  of  Paros,  and  before 
going  there  we  heard  glowing  accounts  of  its  beauty. 
It  lies  under  the  shadow  of  Mount  Elias,'the  highest 
summit  of  Paros  ;  there  are  plenty  of  olives,  oranges,  and 
lemons  about  it,  and  it  is  decidedly  the  largest  place  on 
the  island  ;  for,  as  in  Naxos,  these  central  valleys  have 


PAROS.  387 


escaped  from  the  inroads  of  pirates  and  others  in  search 
of  wood.  The  entrance  to  the  valley  at  the  top  of 
which  Leukis  is  situated  was  protected  by  two  other 
villages  with  mediaeval  fortresses,  Kephalo  and  Kosto, 
the  former  of  which  was  the  last  stronghold  of  the 
Venier  family,  and  which  Barbarossa  only  conquered  by 
cutting  off  the  water  supply. 

But  Leukis  is  by  no  means  a  bright  white  place 
(\svKos)y  as  its  name  indicates  ;  it  is  dirty  and  black  in 
the  extreme,  the  only  white  thing  about  it  being  a 
hideous  new  church  with  an  elaborate  marble  tempelon, 
a  marble  throne,  and  a  marble  pulpit — not  that  they 
want  pulpits  one  bit  in  Greek  churches  as  far  as  I  could 
see.  In  former  days  they  used  to  read  the  prophets, 
epistle,  and  gospel  from  the  ambon ;  now  they  do  this 
on  the  soleas,  or  steps  outside  the  sanctuary,  and  do 
nothing  in  the  pulpit  Over  the  entrance  door  outside 
is  a  curious  marble  slab  on  which  is  sculptured  a  portrait 
of  the  worthy  man  who  founded  this  edifice  in  1830 :  he 
is  depicted  as  a  regular  islander,  with  his  wide  baggy 
trousers  and  the  skouphidy  or  pointed  fez,  on  his  head  ; 
and  in  one  comer  of  the  slab  is  the  hand  of  God  point- 
ing out  of  a  cloud  in  the  direction  of  the  meek  but 
beneficent-looking  old  man.  From  the  churchyard  the 
view  over  the  sister  isle  of  Naxos,  with  its  lovely  fan- 
tastic peaks,  was  very  charming,  far  surpassing  anything 
to  be  seen  on  Paros. 

We  had  a  pleasant  walk  that  evening  with  the 
demarch,  who  showed  us  with  pride  the  orange  and 
lemon  groves  and  the  numerous  wells  of  flowing  water 
which  make  of  Leukis  the  most  favoured  spot  on  Paros. 
No  one  dares  to  draw  water  after  dark  out  of  these 
wells,  for  the  waters  slumber,  they  think,  like  human 
beings,  and  if  they  are  disturbed  the  genius  of  the  placQ 

c  c  2 


388  THE  CYCLADES. 


will  bring  evil  on  the  intruder.  In  common  with  other 
Greeks  of  the  mountainous  districts,  the  people  of  Leukis 
are  highly  superstitious  ;  witches  they  have  in  quantities 
amongst  them,  which  haunt  the  caves  and  rocks  on 
the  mountain  side :  they  are  old  men  or  women,  past  a 
hundred,  who  go  by  the  name  of  arpiykacy  not  unlike 
the  Harpies  of  old,  for  they  can  turn  into  birds  at  will, 
and  have  sometimes  women's  heads  and  the  bodies  of 
birds ;  and  about  these  witches  the  people  of  Leukis 
have  lots  of  legends  {irapafivdia)  which  they  tell,  one 
of  which  relates  how  an  evil  woman  haunts  the  neigh- 
bourhood, eating  all  the  men  she  can  find,  until  a  prince 
shall  come  and  conquer  her,  like  Theseus  and  the  Crom- 
myonian  sow.  At  night  sometimes,  says  the  legend,  these 
witches  come  to  houses,  cut  out  the  heart  of  a  man,  and 
have  a  feast ;  from  dangers  such  as  these  the  hero  of  the 
legend  is  generally  saved  by  some  extraordinary  inter- 
ference. Unbaptized  babes  are,  however,  their  favourite 
food,  and  for  this  reason  children  wear  phylacteries  around 
their  necks. 

Here  in  Leukis  we  heard  a  good  deal  more  about 
those  Kalkagdri  of  which  Naxos  had  provided  us  with  so 
much  information;  children  bom  during  the  days  between 
Christmas  and  Epiphany  are  generally  supposed  to  grow 
into  these  unpleasant  hobgoblins.  It  was  close  upon  the 
time  now,  and  expectant  mothers  were  growing  nervous 
lest  their  progeny  should  appear  at  this  season.  *  We  know 
of  several  Kalkagdri  in  Leukis,*said  the  demarch  solemnly, 
'  children  who  have  been  born  at  this  unlucky  epoch.' 
And  then  he  told  us  stories  of  how  these  unfortunate 
youngsters  would  walk  in  their  sleep  and  torment  their 
friends.  *  We  know  of  them,'  he  concluded,  *  but  we  do 
not  talk  about  them  ;  for  their  parents  do  not  like  to 
have  the  fact  alluded  to.    The  only  way  of  averting  the 


.Jl^^.   I  ^ 


PAROS.  389 

disaster  is  to  place  a  blessed  palm  branch  {fiala)  over 
the  door  at  the  time  of  birth.' 

That  evening  we  had  another  of  those  festive  gather- 
ings which  our  island  hosts  loved  to  improvise  for  us, 
and  a  wild  shepherd  boy,  clad  in  skins,  came  in  to  play 
music  for  the  dancing.  He  was  a  primitive  musician 
in  very  truth  ;  his  instrument,  the  much-loved  sabotina, 
just  a  lamb's  skin  fastened  at  the  head  and  feet,  a  big 
reed  with  two  smaller  ones  stuck  inside  at  one  end 
of  the  skin,  and  a  cow's  horn  to  bring  out  the  sound  at 
the  other  ;  and  to  the  music  of  this  they  danced  the  syrtosy 
with  some  local  acrobatic  variations,  which  made  us 
realise  why  the  island  doctors  recommended  this  dance 
for  torpid  livers  and  indigestion. 

It  was  really  a  cold  morning  when  we  left  Leukis, 
and  our  host,  with  the  true  hospitality  so  common  to 
these  mountain  places,  positively  refused  any  remunera- 
tion for  his  kindness.  Many  of  our  hosts  loftily  refused 
any  monetary  present,  but  at  the  same  time  lead  us  to 
understand  that  their  wives  or  children  are  more  mer- 
cenary, and  not  above  receiving  a  little  remembrance  ; 
but  the  demarch  of  Leukis  was  different — all  he  would 
receive  was  a  little  black-handled  knife  which  we  gave 
him,  saying,  as  he  thanked  us,  that  he  should  put  it 
under  his  pillow  when  he  slept  to  ward  off  nightmare. 
This  is  a  common  belief  among  the  islanders,  as  also 
is  another,  that  the  white  marks  on  finger-nails  are  signs 
of  parental  imprecations. 

Our  ride  to-day  led  us  over  some  of  the  highest 
mountains  in  Paros,  over  2,000  feet  above  the  sea-level. 
We  ascended  by  a  fertile  gorge,  and  before  leaving  the 
region  of  olive  trees  we  dismounted  to  visit  an  old  con- 
vent which  was  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Rainy.  The 
monks  have  long  since  been  chased  away,  and  there  was 


390  THE  CYCLADES. 


no  one  there  to  satisfy  our  curiosity  about  the  name,  so 
we  surmised  that  as  it  was  on  the  slopes  of  Mount 
Prophet  Elias,  where  they  go  in  times  of  drought,  there 
must  be  some  connection  between  St  John  and  the 
prophet  which  is  considered  efficacious  in  producing 
rain  in  dry  seasons.  The  convent  buildings  are  now 
turned  into  a  farm,  where  shepherds  live,  whose  business 
leads  them  to  the  mountains,  and  the  cultivators  of  the 
soil,  who  look  after  the  adjoining  patches  of  v^etation. 

We  now  entered  a  rocky,  windy  district,  and  flakes 
of  snow  fell  occasionally,  to  show  us  that  even  December 
in  the  Sunny  South  is  not  the  paradise  we  imagine  it  in 
England  ;  not  that  snow  falls  often  in  the  Cyclades,  and 
when  it  does  the  inhabitants  affect  surprise,  and  are  at 
a  loss  what  to  call  it,  for,  having  called  cold  rain  snow 
(%fcoi/a),  they  must  needs  have  recourse  to  the  word 
vs(f>as  to  explain  a  snowflake. 

Down  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain  by  the  sea- 
shore is  a  spot  known  as  the  abyss  (afivaaos) ;  here, 
report  says,  sponge-fishers  have  seen  buildings  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,  houses  with  windows  and  doors  over- 
grown with  seaweed,  and  often  choked  up  with  sand  ; 
pieces  of  pottery  they  affirm  to  have  been  brought  up 
from  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  If  this  is  the  case  it  is 
another  instance  of  the  vast  natural  subsidences  that  have 
taken  place  in  all  ages  in  these  islands ;  unfortunately 
the  sea  was  not  smooth  enough  for  us  to  see  anything  ; 
only  our  muleteer  pointed  out  on  the  shore  rocks  of  a 
easily  split  ironstone,  which  he  said  were  the  walls  of  the 
ancient  town.  True  enough  they  resembled  walls,  but 
they  were  not.  All  about  here  the  formation  is  similar, 
and  it  struck  us  as  more  than  possible  that  the  divers 
have  been  deceived,  and  that  the  name  of  the  abyss  is 
an  unmerited  one. 


PAROS.  391 


We  had  a  weary  ride  that  afternoon  across  an  un- 
interesting country  to  the  south  of  Paros  ;  we  passed  by 
another  church  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Theologian  made 
out  of  a  cave  with  a  wall  built  on  to  it.  Why  is  St.  John 
the  Divine  the  tutelar  deity  of  so  many  caves  } — he  pro- 
tects the  huge  grotto  of  Antiparos  and  other  caves.  Is 
it  because  he  was  supposed  to  have  lived  in  a  cave  at 
Patmos  when  he  wrote  his  Revelation  ? 

The  shades  of  night  came  upon  us  before  we  reached 
Kypedos,  a  considerable  village  to  the  east  of  Paros.  It 
is  tolerably  flat  round  here,  and  the  country  is  a  perfect 
mausoleum.  We  visited  next  day  no  less  than  three  grave- 
yards, and  were  shown  lots  more ;  some  of  them  have 
Roman  remains  in  them,  some  Hellenic,  some  prehistoric, 
embracing  many  centuries,  and  pointing  to  the  constant 
going  to  and  fro  of  nations  at  this  spot  in  search  doubt- 
less of  the  precious  marble. 

The  mediaeval  fortress  built  on  the  summit  of  an 
isolated  conical  hill,  close  to  the  sea,  and  commanding  the 
strait  between  Naxos  and  Paros,  repays  a  visit :  it  must 
one  day  have  been  a  large  and  commanding  spot,  and  is 
covered  with  houses  and  churches  of  the  Venetian  epoch. 
At  the  top  is  a  disused  monastery  and  a  lovely  church, 
dedicated  to  St.  Anthony,  whither  the  people  of  Paros 
repair  once  a  year  on  the  saint's  feast-day.  It  is  really 
too  bad  of  the  Greek  Government  when  they  disperse  a 
monastery  to  leave  no  money  with  which  the  church  and 
the  objects  of  mediaeval  art  can  be  kept  from  destruction. 
Here  is  a  most  exquisitely  carved  iconostasiSy  or  screjen 
before  the  sanctuary,  covered  with  pictures,  in  rich  gilded 
niches,  carved  vine-tendrils,  and  finely  executed  borders  ; 
in  short,  a  lovely  piece  of  old  carving  which  would  be 
prized  as  a  monument  of  the  past  anywhere  in  Western 
Europe ;  but  now  it  is  left  to  decay,  so  that  one  of  our 


/ 


392  THE  CYCLADES, 


pious  muleteers  picked  up  a  golden  figure  which  belonged 
to  it  and  nailed  it  on.  It  is  the  same  everywhere  ;  these 
tempela  are  apparently  considered  beneath  contempt  in 
Greece,  and  everywhere  are  left  in  empty  churches  to  rot 
and  decay.  In  its  wealthy  days  this  castle  church  must 
have  been  rich  in  decoration,  but  the  frescoes,  too,  are 
fast  decaying  with  damp — those  terribly  realistic  frescoes 
of  the  Byzantine  School  representing  the  tortures  of  the 
wicked.  In  those  days  they  apparently  recognised  the 
stomach  as  the  seat  of  the  spirit,  and  this  fact  is  recog- 
nised in  these  frescoes  by  representing  the  devil  dragging 
the  spirit  out  of  an  ill- doer's  mouth.  I  have  actually 
heard  the  word  spirit  used  for  the  stomach  in  ordinary 
parlance — irovzX  ^  '^vxh  fiov  (my  stomach  aches).  On 
the  floor  is  a  fine  double-headed  eagle  of  Constantine, 
a  usual  object  in  Greek  churches.  On  this  the  bishop 
stands  when  at  his  ordination  ;  he  pronounces  the  con- 
fession of  faith  in  the  presence  of  the  kneeling  populace, 
thereby  showing  that  he  inherits  from  Constantine  the 
right  of  ruling  over  his  flock. 

From  the  top  of  the  castle  we  looked  down  upon  an 
evidence  of  the  failure  of  a  Pariote  marble  company. 
Twenty  years  ago  one  was  started  up  in  the  mountains, 
and  blocks  of  white  marble  were  brought  down  and  laid 
by  the  seashore,  but  the  company  failed  before  they  were 
shipped  off,  and  now  they  are  left  there,  looking  from  our 
eyrie  above  just  like  a  flock  of  sheep. 

We  were  again  favoured  by  a  warm  sun  for  ouf 
journey  frorrt  Kypedos  through  the  plain  of  Marpessa 
with  its  villages.  One  of  these,  called  Marmora,  has  lots 
of  ruins  about  it,  and  drums  of  temples,  one  of  which,  we 
were  told,  was  once  dedicated  to  the  goddess  Marpessa, 
and  recalled  to  our  minds  the  legend  of  her  husband 
Idas  and  the  Caledonian  hunt    Why  her  name  lingers 


PAROS.  393 


so  long  at  Paros  I  cannot  say.  The  marble  mountain  is 
called  after  her,  and  here  apparently  was  her  temple, 
some  of  the  drums  of  which  have  been  turned  to  an 
excellent  use,  for  about  half  a  dozen  of  them  have  been 
scooped  out  and  placed  around  a  well  as  troughs  for 
water  out  of  which  the  mules  can  drink.  The  Greek 
muleteers  are  generally  kind  to  their  beasts,  and  urge 
them  on  more  by  the  hideous  noise  they  make,  than  by 
actual  beating  ;  though  in  Paros  we  had  little  bits  of 
wood,  cut  like  pencils,  with  the  points  of  which  you  can 
prick  the  beast  if  he  is  sluggish.  But  if  you  use  this 
implement  when  the  muleteers  think  it  unnecessary  you 
are  sure  of  a  reprimand. 

Marmora  is  a  wretched  spot  now,  full  of  empty  houses, 
for  it  is  a  fever-stricken  spot,  and  the  world  seems  to  have 
migrated  to  the  port  of  Naoussa  {yavsy  vabs),  for  if  ever 
a  town  deserved  to  be  called  a  haven  it  is  Naoussa.  In 
its  gigantic  harbour  all  the  fleets  of  the  world  could  be 
anchored  in  safe  water ;  but,  as  it  is,  it  is  somewhat  a 
dreary  fishing  village  with  the  ruins  of  a  mediaeval  fort 
out  in  the  sea,  and  some  large  buildings  which  the 
Russians  erected  when  they  proposed  at  the  close  of 
last  century  to  make  dep6ts  for  wide  conquests  in  the 
archipelago. 


394  THE  CYCLADES. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

ANTIPAROS. 

I.   The  Island  and  Grotto, 

Antiparos  may  in  one  sense  be  said  to  be  a  lucky 
island — it  is  a  place  without  a  history.  In  classical 
times  it  was  ignored,  in  mediaeval  times  it  was  deemed 
of  no  account ;  all  we  can  say  for  certain  about  it  is 
that,  until  lately,  it  was  the  hotbed  of  piracy — and  its 
inhabitants  are  still  anything  but  creditable  members  of 
society — and  it  has  a  very  large  cave. 

The  Pariotes  look  down  on  their  neighbours  with 
supreme  contempt  and  call  them  Kovpoivaiy  or  crows. 
I  was  puzzled  at  this  appellation,  for  we  certainly  saw 
more  crows  at  Paros  than  Antiparos,  and  asked  my 
muleteer.  *  You  must  know,  sir,'  he  replied,  *  that  of  all 
men  the  Antipariotes  are  the  most  superstitious ;  and 
when  I  was  young  they  were  accustomed  to  take  oracles 
from  crows.  If  they  saw  a  crow  settle  on  a  tree  they 
would  carefully  observe  on  which  side  it  was  ;  if  on  the 
south  side  of  the  tree  off  they  went  in  a  hurry  to  shut 
the  gates  of  their  village,  for  this  was  an  augury  that 
corsairs  were  in  the  channel ;  if  the  bird  settled  on  the 
north  side  all  was  safe,  and  they  took  no  further  heed  : 
and  so  we  always  call  them  "  crows."  * 

Something  strongly  resembling  the  oracles  taken 
from  the  Dodonian  Oak,  I  thought,  as  I  jogged  along, 


ANTIPAROS.  395 


and  pny  interest  was  excited  about  the  crows  into  whose 
nest  we  were  about  to  deposit  ourselves  ;  but,  as  it  turned 
out,  we  found  our  home  for  three  weeks  at  Antiparos, 
not  amongst  the  crows,  but  in  the  hospitable  nest  of  the 
Swans — two  English  brothers,  who  work  calamine  mines 
on  this  island,  and  who  not  only  assisted  us  in  our 
digging  operations,  but  gave  us  the  rest  that  we  much 
needed. 

On  the  coast  of  Paros,  just  over  against  Antiparos, 
is  a  little  church.  When  people  want  to  be  ferried  across 
they  leave  the  door  of  this  church  open  as  a  signal  for 
the  rickety  tub  to  come  across  and  fetch  them  :  this  is 
all  the  means  of  communication  the  crows  have  with  the 
outer  world.  The  strait  is  very  narrow,  and  between 
the  two  islands  in  former  years  the  pirates  built  a  wall 
in  the  sea,  the  passage  through  which  was  only  known 
to  themselves  ;  so  by  this  means  they  had  an  infallible 
escape  from  pursuit,  and  the  honeycombed  coast  of 
Antiparos  formed  an  excellent  depository  for  their  stolen 
goods.  All  the  older  inhabitants  can  tell  wonderful 
stories  of  those  days,  when  exciting  chases  after  pirates 
passed  before  their  very  eyes.  One  story,  which  they 
are  never  tired  of  relating,  and  regretting  that  it  will 
never  happen  again,  runs  as  follows.  A  heavily  laden 
merchant  ship  was  hotly  pursued  by  pirates,  and,  per- 
ceiving no  chance  of  eventual  escape,  it  ran  into  a  bay 
of  Antiparos,  close  to  which  is  a  large  cave  ;  here  they 
deposited  their  goods  and  went  away,  hoping  that  the 
pirates  would  not  find  the  things.  The  Antipariotes, 
however,  were  aware  of  this  manoeuvre,  and,  after  wait- 
ing for  a  little  time,  for  fear  of  summary  vengeance 
if  the  merchant  returned  and  found  his  goods  stolen, 
they  one  by  one  repaired  to  the  cave,  bringing  back  first 
one  thing  and  then  another  until,  as  time  wore  on,  and 


396  THE  CYC  LADES. 


the  merchants  did  not  return,  anybody  who  was  in 
want  of  anything  took  a  walk  to  the  cave  and  helped 
himself. 

A  more  wretched  fever-stricken  lot  than  the  six 
hundred  inhabitants  of  the  one  village  of  Antiparos  I 
never  saw  ;  it  is  just  one  of  the  usual  fortified  Kastros  of 
the  islands,  with  the  backs  of  the  houses  fitting  close 
together,  so  as  to  form  a  circular  wall.  It  has  gates 
which  are  now  never  closed,  and  its  streets  are  filthily 
dirty ;  and,  as  it  lies  low,  in  summer  time  it  is  a  hotbed 
of  fever. 

The  priest,  whom  I  afterwards  learnt  did  not  bear 
an  excellent  character,  and  who  had  narrowly  escaped 
being  unfrocked  for  his  naughty  ways,  is  the  ruling  spirit 
of  the  place,  and  seized  upon  us  foreigners  as  his  own 
particular  prey.  Where  priestcraft  is  predominant,  and 
more  especially  unscrupulous  priestcraft,  there  is  always 
unlimited  superstition.  And  here  in  Antiparos  we  found 
it  as  our  muleteer  had  prognosticated.  They  believe  an 
old  man  and  an  old  woman  have  the  gift  of  prophesying 
death.  The  old  man  is  especially  clever  at  this,  and  goes 
hobbling  about  at  midday,  when  the  sun  is  at  its  meri- 
dian, to  an  old  tower,  in  front  of  which  is  a  little  square  ; 
here,  in  an  ecstasy,  he  says  that  he  sees  those  dancing 
who  are  going  to  die. 

*  Barba  George,'  for  they  call  old  men  Barba  here, 
said  the  priest  who  informed  me,  *  on  this  subject  has  very 
delicate  feelings ;  he  does  not  break  the  news  to  the 
doomed  individual  himself,  but  does  it  through  a  friend.' 

People  believe  that  these  old  wizards  can  never  make 
a  mistake — only  once  the  old  man  was  wrong.  He  saw 
three  people  dancing  the  syrtos  in  front  of  the  tower, 
two  of  them  had  their  hands  joined  after  the  usual 
fashion  in  the  dance,  the  third  had  not ;  the  two  died, 


ANTIPAROS,  i<yj 


the  third  is  alive  to  this  day.  In  addition  to  this  faculty 
of  foreseeing  the  advent  of  the  arch  enemy,  Death,  Barba 
George  and  Kera  Anna  used  to  be  adepts  at  fore- 
telling the  advent  of  pirates  and  at  giving  timely  warn- 
ing to  the  inhabitants,  but  this  branch  of  their  trade  may 
be  said  now  to  be  extinct ;  simple  sheep-stealing,  such  as 
often  occurs,  is  beneath  their  notice. 

After  a  death  no  Antipariote  will  cross  his  threshold 
from  sunset  to  sunrise,  for  three  days  at  least,  for  fear  of 
encountering  the  ghost  Taken  altogether,  we  felt  that 
these  people  were  a  degraded,  superstitious  lot,  far  behind 
many  of  their  remoter  contemporaries  in  civilisation  and 
progress.  It  was  St.  Nicholas'  Day,  properly  so  called, 
when  we  reached  Antiparos.  It  is  excessively  convenient 
for  these  lazy  Greeks — the  eve  of  their  many  feast-days 
and  the  feast-day  itself  are  both  considered  as  holidays. 
Services  were  going  on  in  all  the  churches  and  dances 
in  many  of  the  houses,  for,  being  an  almost  exclusively 
seafaring  lot,  they  deem  it  necessary  to  show  St  Nicholas 
special  honour.  The  people  of  Antiparos,  after  the 
custom  of  all  Greek  peasants,  dance  the  syrtos  and  the 
orchos  remarkably  well :  the  latter  is  for  two  only,  and 
has  very  graceful  motions,  after  the  fashion  of  a  hornpipe : 
and  as  a  very  plain  young  man  and  a  repulsively  ugly  girl 
danced  it  together  the  musicians  played  music  for  them 
on  a  lute  and  fiddle,  and  sang  as  they  played,  in  a  painfully 
hideous  key,  the  praises  of  the  young  woman,  who,  we 
were  told,  was  shortly  to  marry  her  partner,  as  follows  : — 
*  She  with  her  attractive  love  and  graceful  air  and  beauty 
of  face  shall  live  with  prudence,  honour,  and  praise  for 
long  years  with  her  loving  spouse.'  In  this  strain  sang  the 
bard  whilst  the  happy  couple  stepped  the  orchos  together 
and  looked  as  few  English  couples  under  similar  circum- 
stances could  look — utterly  unconcerned. 


398  THE  CYC  LADES. 


There  is  nothing  attractive  in  the  village  of  Antiparos ; 
lots  of  octopodia  were  hanging  up  to  dry  in  the  sun  in 
preparation  for  the  Lenten  feast ;  on  balconies  we  saw 
red  cakes  drying,  which  are  formed  of  the  skins  of  grapes 
which  have  been  pressed  in  the  winepresses,  and  which, 
we  were  told,  are  sent  to  France  to  make  claret  with. 
We  were  soon  ready  to  depart ;  but  just  as  we  mounted 
our  mules  the  priest  came  out  of  his  house  and  begged  us 
to  take  dinner  with  him,  but  having  already  sufficiently 
refreshed  ourselves  we  refused,  whereupon  he  disappeared 
for  a  moment  and  came  out  with  a  morsel  of  fish  on  his 
fork,  which  I  was  obliged  to  eat,  for  not  until  we  had 
tasted  food  could  we  drink  of  the  excellent  wine  he 
wished  to  offer  us  to  the  success  of  our  journey.  And 
then,  without  regret,  we  started  across  the  island  to  the 
more  genial  quarters  of  the  English  gentlemen  who 
own  the  calamine  mines  here,  to  whose  hospitality  we 
were  to  be  so  greatly  indebted. 

Antiparos  is  not  a  fair  island  to  look  upon — treeless 
and  mountainous,  but  covered  with  a  superabundance  of 
low  brushwood  which  in  certain  seasons  is  radiant  with 
flowers.  In  the  centre  of  the  island  it  is  fairly  well  cul- 
tivated and  covered  with  vineyards,  but  the  vines  are  all 
blighted,  and  the  Antipariotes  are  but  idle  husbandmen, 
and  so  far  they  have  found  their  incantations  and  priestly 
curses  of  but  little  avail  in  driving  away  this  blight, 
which  will  remain  with  them,  I  fear,  till  they  attack  the 
evil  with  more  energy  than  at  present. 

Next  day  we  visited  the  celebrated  grotto,  and  as  we 
approached  it  we  were  obliged  to  traverse  a  wilderness 
of  stones.  It  was  on  his  visit  to  this  grotto  that  Tourne- 
fort's  mind  was  exercised  by  his  favourite  theory,  the 
vegetation  of  stones.'  But  though  it  is  nearly  two  hundred 
years  since  his  visit  I  fancy  the  stones  have  progressed  but 


ANTIPAROS.  299 


little  in  the  vegetable  direction — they  are  fearfully  hard 
still  and  unpleasant  to  walk  upon. 

The  entrance  to  the  grotto  is  about  four  miles  from  the 
village,  and  is  a  curious  semicircular  hole,  about  loo  feet 
long  by  60  high,  at  the  top  of  a  hill,  just  under  1,000  feet 
above  the  sea-level;  gigantic  stalactites  guard  the  entrance, 
lifelike  and  terrible.  No  wonder  the  natives  look  upon 
this  cave — Acara^v,  as  they  call  it,  a  name  common  to  most 
caves  into  which  you  descend  {KaTa<f>svya))  for  refuge — 
with  superstitious  awe,  and  before  entering  it  many  think 
it  advisable  to  let  off  a  gun,  so  as  to  drive  away  any 
ghosts  or  hobgoblins  that  may  be  about.  In  one  corner 
of  the  entrance  is  a  little  church,  dedicated  to  St.  John 
the  Theologian,  where  they  hold  a  panegyris  once  a  year, 
iand  where  shepherds  sleep  occasionally,  and  hear  strange 
noises  rising  out  of  the  cave,  which  terrify  them  exceed- 
ingly ;  for  this,  say  they,  is  one  of  the  entrances  to  Hades. 
A  herdsman  who  chanced  to  be  with  us  asserted  that 
he  and  another  man  once  passed  the  night  in  this 
church  and  heard  great  stones  falling  on  the  roof ;  they 
went  out  but  saw  nothing,  yet  all  night  the  stones  went 
on  falling  on  the  roof,  so  that  they  could  get  no  sleep, 
and  passed  their  time  in  crossing  themselves  and  praying 
to  St.  John.  Personally  I  felt  much  more  as  if  I  was 
about  to  enter  the  grotto  of  Thetis  on  the  day  of  the 
marriage  of  Peleus ;  so  much  for  associations — under 
different  mental  impressions  they  vary  exceedingly. 

Just  inside  the  entrance  is  a  walled-off  enclosure^ 
where  some  hundred  or  so  young  kids  were  bleating 
and  sporting.  Just  over  the  entrance  wreaths  of  wild 
capers  and  other  aromatic  shrubs  hung  gracefully  down. 
It  is  indeed  a  wild,  enchanting  spot ;  it  must  have  been 
well  known  to  the  ancients,  though  no  mention  of  it  is 
made,  for  there  is  an  incision  on  one  of  the  stalactites 


400  THE  CYC  LADES, 


from  which  a  tablet  has  been  removed,  and  on  a  rock 
to  the  left  is  an  old  inscription  beginning  thus :  'EttI 
¥.plr(ovos  otSe  ^X^oi/,  and  then  what  appeared  to  be  a 
list  of  names  :  this  was  all  the  trace  of  antiquity  we  could 
see.  Inside  there  was  none,  and  I  should  much  doubt  if 
any  ancient  Greek,  unless  he  was  one  of  the  deities  of 
Olympus,  ever  ventured  to  enter  this  yawning  abyss. 

Now  we  were  ready  to  descend  ;  after  going  down  a 
gentle  slope  for  some  thirty  feet  we  reached  an  aperture 
four  or  five  feet  across,  and  here  our  difficulties  began, 
and  ropes  had  to  be  brought  into  requisition.  It  is 
not  the  pleasantest  of  all  sensations  to  be  dangling  in 
the  air  over  an  abyss,  the  depth  of  which  you  cannot 
measure  by  the  uncertain  light  of  your  torch,  and  to  be 
solely  dependent  on  your  ability  in  holding  a  rope 
which  is  tied  to  a  stalactite  for  your  safety.  Down, 
down  we  went,  descending  three  difficult  places  by 
ropes  and  two  by  ladders  until  we  were  safely  landed 
in  a  perfect  sea  of  stalactites  and  stalagmites  of  dazzling 
beauty.  We  had  brought  with  us  a  large  quantity  of 
dried  brushwood  (<f>pirfopa)  with  which  to  kindle  a  light, 
and  by  this  means  we  were  able  to  penetrate  with  our 
eyes  the  labyrinth  of  sparkling  chambers.  No  wonder 
the  timorous  Greek  recognises  in  this  cave  the  palace  of 
his  unearthly  Nereids  and  deities  belonging  to  another 
world  ;  no  wonder  they  tell  stories  of  strange  singings 
and  dancings  which  are  heard  to  be  going  on  below  : 
the  shadows  cast  around  us  by  our  torches  as  we  de- 
scended were  enough  to  create  all  sorts  of  ideas  in  super- 
stitious minds. 

Here  and  there  holes  were  pointed  out  to  us  which, 
said  one  of  our  men,  no  human  being,  to  his  knowledge, 
had  ever  penetrated,  being  too  narrow  ;  but  a  tradition 
exists  that  a  goat  put  in  here  in  about  two  hours'  time 


ANTIPAROS.  401 


will  turn  up  at  a  small  church  dedicated  to  the  archangel 
Michael.  We  heard  exactly  the  same  story  about  the 
cave  at  Thermiel,  so  we  did  not  give  it  credence,  and 
certainly  did  not  intend  to  test  the  veracity  thereof. 

This  vast  hall,  which  we  had  now  reached,  right  in 
the  heart  of  the  mountain,  is  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  long,  six  hundred  and  seventy  eight  wide,  and  three 
hundred  and  sixty  high,  and  resembles  some  lovely 
cathedral  sparkling  with  gems,  the  dome  of  which  is 
supported  by  elegant  pillars  of  exquisite  workmanship. 
Stalactites  surround  the  edifice  like  statues  of  saints  in 
niches,  and  stalactites  in  rows  at  one  end  remind  one  of 
an  organ.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  idea  of  sanctity 
was  suggested  to  the  minds  of  the  first  modern  travellers 
who  descended  here.  At  one  end  of  this  vast  temple, 
screened  off  by  stalactites,  is  a  natural  sanctuary  with  a 
ready-made  altar,  and  at  the  end  of  it  is  a  sort  of 
pyramid  which  looks  as  if  it  were  made  of  cauliflowers 
of  marble.  Two  pillars  in  front  of  this  were  broken  off 
by  M.  de  Nointel  to  serve  as  a  table  for  the  celebration 
of  his  midnight  mass  in  1673  ;  on  the  base  of  the  pyramid 
are  carved  the  following  words  : — 

Hie  ipse  Christus  adfuit 
Ejus  natali  die  medii  nocte  celebrato 

MDCLXXIII. 

This  huge  stalagmite  is  twenty-four  feet  high  and  twenty 
feet  in  diameter  at  its  base,  and  beside  it  are  rows  of 
smaller  stalactites,  white  and  sparkling  in  the  fitful 
light. 

M.  dc  Nointel  was  the  French  ambassador  at  the 
Porte,  and  a  great  archaeologist,  who  travelled  about  and 
enriched  the  Paris  museums  in  days  when  priceless 
gems  were  to  be  had  for  the  trouble  of  taking.     Out  of 

D  D 


402  THE  CYCLADES. 


some  strange  caprice  he  chose  to  pass  three  Christmas 
holidays  in  this  grotto,  accompanied  by  five  hundred 
persons — his  domestics,  merchants,  corsairs,  timid  natives 
who  were  bribed  by  largesses — any,  in  fact,  who  were 
willing  to  follow  him. 

It  must  have  been  a  most  impressive  sight,  that  mid- 
night mass  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  A  hundred  large 
torches  of  yellow  wax  and  four  hundred  lamps  burning 
night  and  day  illuminated  the  place,  and  men  posted  in 
every  available  space,  on  stalactites  and  in  crevices  all 
the  way  to  the  entrance,  gave  notice  by  the  waving  of 
their  handkerchiefs  one  to  the  other  of  the  moment  of 
the  elevation  of  the  host,  and  at  the  given  signal  explo- 
sives were  let  off  at  the  entrance  of  the  cavern,  and 
trumpets  sounded,  to  herald  the  event  to  the  world. 

M.  de  Nointel  passed  the  three  nights  in  a  small 
chamber  close  to  the  altar,  whilst  his  friends  scattered 
themselves  about  The  great  difficulty  was  to  provide 
food  and  water  for  so  many  individuals,  as  the  inde- 
fatigable ambassador  was  determined  to  wait  here  for 
three  whole  days.  Luckily  for  them  a  spring  of  fresh 
water  was  discovered  inside  the  cavern  ;  how  they  pro- 
vided food  for  such  a  multitude  we  do  not  know.  The 
suite  doubtless  found  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  pass  the 
time  in  this  imprisonment,  so  we  are  not  surprised  to 
find  that  they  amused  themselves  by  writing  their  names 
on  the  walls  and  on  the  pillars  with  firebrands.  It  is 
curious  to  see  how  fresh  and  clear  these  names  have  re- 
mained after  the  lapse  of  more  than  two  centuries. 

A  further  but  uninteresting  descent  of  about  eighty 
feet  can  be  made  beyond  this  hall,  where  all  the  most 
energetic  travellers  have  penetrated  and  written  their 
names,  and  amongst  others  Otho,  the  first  king  of  the 
Hellenes. 


ANTIPAROS,  403 


We  spent  so  long  in  examining  the  place  that  bur 
stock  of  brushwood  was  nearly  extinguished,  and  we 
were  nearly  choked  with  the  smoke ;  so  it  was  con- 
sidered time  to  retire.  Moreover  our  guides,  and  old 
Zeppo  in  particular,  of  whom  more  anon,  grew  greatly 
alarmed  at  the  denseness  of  the  atmosphere,  and  prayed 
us  to  begone.  The  ascent  was  no  easy  matter,  but  it 
was  accomplished  with  the  loss  of  a  few  buttons  and  the 
receipt  of  a  few  bruises,  and  then  we  were  in  a  condition 
to  enjoy  immensely  the  excellent  luncheon  which  was 
prepared  for  us  at  the  top. 

The  remains  of  our  candles  were  burnt  by  our  at- 
tendants in  the  chapel  of  St.  John  the  Theologian, 
*  because,*  said  they,  *  he  has  to-day  preserved  us  in  the 
evil  hour.* 

NOTE. 
On  ike  Prehistoric  Remains  of  Antiparos, 

On  ascertaining  the  existence  of  extensive  prehistoric  remains 
at  Antiparos  I  felt  that  it  would  be  a  satisfactory  spot  for 
making  investigations — first,  because  during  historic  times  we 
have  hardly  any  reference  to  the  existence  of  a  population 
here ;  in  fact,  the  only  reference  that  I  can  find  to  Antiparos 
under  its  old  name  of  Oliaros  is  in  an  obscure  author,  Stephanos 
Byzantinos,  who  tells  us  that  *  Oliaros,  one  of  the  Cyclades,  about 
'  which  Heraclides,  of  Pontius,  in  his  description  of  the  islands,  says, 
"  Oliaros,  a  Sidonian  colony,  is  distant  from  Paros  nine  stadia." ' 
This  notice  gives  us  a  possible  solution  of  the  vexed  question  as  to 
who  these  inhabitants  were ;  they  may  have  been  early  Phoenicians. 
The  existence  of  calamine  in  this  island  may  have  been  known  to 
them,  and  have  attracted  large  numbers.  Only  a  few  years  ago 
calamine  mines  have  been  opened  here ;  whether  calamine  and  its 
properties  were  known  to  the  Phoenicians  it  is  impossible  now  to  say. 
I  could  find  no  trace  of  any  ancient  works  here,  but  they  may  have 
taken  their  mineral  from  near  the  surface  and  have  left  no  trace  of 
holes.   Beyond  a  Venetian  fortress  and  the  present  wretched  village, 

D  D  2 


404  THE  CYC  LADES. 


the  inhabitants  of  which  are  chiefly  descended  from  reclaimed 
pirates,  and  a  few  houses  near  the  above-mentioned  mines,  there 
are  no  traces  of  habitations  on  the  islands  at  all ;  certainly  nothing 
of  Hellenic  work. 

Secondly,  I  was  induced  to  dig  at  Antiparos  because  I  was 
shown  extensive  graveyards  there.  Of  these  I  visited  no  less 
than  four  on  the  island  itself,  and  heard  from  natives  of  the 
existence  of  others  in  parts  of  the  island  I  did  not  visit.  A  rock 
in  the  sea  between  Antiparos  and  the  adjacent  uninhabited  island 
of  Despotiko  is  covered  with  graves,  and  another  islet  is  called 
Cemeteri,  from  the  graves  on  it.  The  islands  of  Despotiko  and 
Antiparos  were  once  joined  by  a  tongue  of  land,  which  was  washed 
away  by  the  encroachment  of  the  sea  on  the  northern  side  ;  and  in 
the  shallow  water  of  the  bay,  between  the  islands,  I  was  pointed 
out  traces  of  ancient  dwellings,  and  with  the  help  of  a  telescope — 
that  is  to  say,  a  can  with  a  glass  bottom,  which  the  sponge  fisher- 
men use  here  to  see  the  bottom  of  the  sea — I  was  able  to  discern  a 
well  filled  up  with  sand,  an  oven,  and  a  small  square  house.  It 
would  be  interesting  to  compare  these  with  the  prehistoric  houses 
found  at  Therasia  and  Santorin  by  the  French  School  at  Athens 
and  with  that  on  Salamis.  Unfortunately  the  ruins  were  too  much 
covered  with  seaweed  for  me,  with  the  rude  appliances  at  hand,  to 
form  any  opinion  or  take  any  measurements.  A  clever  fisherman, 
who  knows  every  inch  of  the  bay,  told  me  that  pottery  similar  to 
that  I  found  in  the  graves  was  very  plentiful  at  the  bottom  of  the 
sea  near  the  houses. 

It  is  on  the  slope  of  the  mountain,  about  a  mile  above  the  spot 
where  the  houses  were,  that  an  extensive  graveyard  exists.  It  is 
not  unlikely  that  the  submerged  houses  form  the  town  of  which 
this  was  the  necropolis. 

Lastly,  I  was  further  induced  by  the  fact  that  the  adjacent 
island  of  Paros  was  a  great  centre  for  settlements  in  all  ages, 
owing  to  the  marble  quarries,  from  various  nations  and  languages ; 
but  Antiparos  had  the  advantage  over  Paros  for  excavating,  owing 
to  the  non-existence  of  historic  remains,  so  that  we  could  start  with 
a  fair  supposition  that  the  extensive  graveyards  belonged  to  a 
period  prior  to  history. 

During  my  stay  at  Antiparos  I  was  assisted  in  everything  by 
the  kindness  of  my  friends  the  Messrs.  Swan,  who  conduct  the 
calamine  mines  on  the  island,  and  with  the  aid  of  their  workmen 
reopened  some  forty  graves  from  two  of  the  graveyards.    One  of 


msam^^tsi^^r9it^^^SBe^m^mam 


ANTIPAROS,  405 


these  cemeteries — ^namely,  the  one  over  the  submerged  houses 
already  referred  to — was  greatly  inferior  to  the  other,  in  the 
character  of  the  graves  themselves,  and  in  the  nature  of  the 
•finds*  therein,  though  they  all  belonged  to  the  same  class  of 
workmanship. 

First,  we  will  speak  of  the  graves  themselves.  Most  of  those 
in  the  poorer  graveyard  were  very  irregular  in  design,  some  oblong, 
some  triangular,  some  square ;  they  generally  had  three  slabs  to 
form  the  sides,  the  fourth  being  built  up  with  stones  and  rubbish. 
There  was  always  a  slab  on  the  top  and  sometimes  at  the  bottom 
of  the  grave.  They  were  on  an  average  three  feet  long,  two  feet 
wide,  and  seldom  more  than  two  feet  deep.  In  every  grave  on  this 
western  side  we  found  bones,  chiefly  heaped  together  in  confusion, 
so  much  so  that  it  seems  impossible  that  the  bodies  can  have  been 
buried  even  in  a  sitting  posture ;  and  most  graves  contained  the 
bones  of  more  bodies  than  one.  In  one  very  small  grave,  so  small 
that  to  get  the  remains  of  two  people  in  they  must  have  cut  up  the 
limbs,  we  found  two  skulls  so.  tightly  wedged  together  between  the 
side  slabs  that  they  could  not  be  removed  without  smashing  them  ; 
from  this  we  may  possibly  infer  that  the  flesh  had  been  removed 
in  some  way  before  interment,  differing  essentially  from  what  Dr. 
Schliemann  found  at  Hissarlik,  where,  he  says,  *all  prehistoric 
people  who  succeeded  each  other  in  the  course  of  ages  on  the 
hills  of  Hissarlik  used  cremation  of  the  dead.'  This  at  once  argues 
a  great  difference  between  the  prehistoric  inhabitants  of  Hissarlik 
and  Antiparos.  In  the  graves  in  the  cemetery  to  the  south-east 
of  the  island  I  found  only  one  body  in  each ;  they  were  consider- 
ably larger  and  better  built ;  some  of  them  had  graves  beneath, 
and  in  every  case  a  slab  or  pillow  on  which  the  head  was  rested. 
One  graveyard  was  essentially  mferior  to  the  other  in  point  of 
wealth  and  advance  in  art,  yet  the  nature  of  the  *  finds '  in  each 
was  the  same. 

I  will,  first,  discuss  the  marble  *  finds '  in  these  graves.  In  the 
poorer  graves  I  found  the  rudest  representations  of  the  human 
form  in  marble,  which  somewhat  resemble  a  violin,  both  of  which 
were  in  one  grave  and  probably  meant  to  represent  man  and  wife. 
In  one  grave  here  I  also  found  some  flat  round  bits  of  marble, 
which  I  threw  away  as  mere  pebbles  at  the  time,  but  after-con- 
sideration makes  me  inclined  to  believe  that  they  were  intended  for 
the  same  purpose. 

Secondly,  the  cemetery  to  the  south-east.    The  representa- 


4o6  THE  CYCLADES, 

tions  of  the  human  form  were  certainly  better,  and  show  consider- 
able advance  in  artistic  skill ;  they  have  apparently  been  made 
by  rubbing  the  marble  with  stone,  so  as  to  leave  the  nose  and 
eyes. 

There  is  always  special  attention  paid  in  the  female  figures  to 
the  vulva  triangle,  doubtless  pointing  to  a  worship  of  procreative 
power  ;  and  in  one  figure  found  here  the  idea  of  the  sitting  posture 
is  cleverly  given,  and  there  is  a  successful  attempt  to  give  the 
roundness  of  the  calves  and  limbs.  Two  similar  figures  I  got  from 
Paros,  perhaps  indicating  a  further  advance  ;  the  one  with  pointed 
legs  I  take  to  be  a  man,  by  comparing  him  with  a  similar  figure  in 
the  British  Museum.  From  Amorgos  I  got  a  still  more  advanced 
specimen  of  these  quaint  figures,  being  a  group  of  which  only  is 
left  the  trunk  of  a  woman's  body,  with  the  arm  of  another  person 
round  her  back,  probably  a  further  representation  of  man  and 
wife.  In  the  museum  at  Athens  there  exists  one  of  these  figures  of 
wonderfully  advanced  execution ;  it  represents  a  man  sitting  in  a 
chair  playing  a  lyre,  and  is  really  a  work  of  fair  execution,  but  they 
have  always  the  same  curious  pointed  shape  of  the  head,  and  un- 
naturally long  neck  ;  and  it  is  puzzling  to  divine  why,  when  they 
could  round  and  finish  off  other  parts  of  the  body,  the  head  was 
invariably  pointed  like  the  blade  of  a  stone  implement.  In  some 
graves  I  found  marble  legs  all  alone,  in  another  a  headless  silver 
figure  covered  with  so  heavy  an  oxide  that  the  form  was  almost 
destroyed ;  they  probably  must  have  had  some  religious  purport, 
ex  voto  or  otherwise ;  and  from  the  excess  of  female  figures  over 
male  it  is  presumable  that  the  people  were  worshippers,  though 
not  exclusively,  of  some  female  deity. 

Besides  the  figures  there  were  a  good  many  other  marble  things 
in  the  graves  ;  large  marble  bowls,  with  vertical  holes  for  suspen- 
sion, are  frequently  found  in  similar  graves  in  the  Cyclades,  and 
are  called  \vxvapia  by  the  natives.  One  that  I  found  in  a  grave  at 
Antiparos  had  a  collection  of  shells  from  the  seashore  at  the  bottom 
of  it,  evidently  put  in  at  the  time  of  burial  as  an  offering  to  the 
dead. 

I  found  also  several  marble  plates  well  rounded,  and  with  an 
idea  of  ornamentation  in  the  rim  round  the^  edge,  another  dish  with 
bits  of  marble  left  on  the  edge  for  ornamentation,  and  a  neatly 
made  phial  with  a  lip  to  pour  out  of.  Marble,  of  course,  is  a  spe- 
ciality of  the  Cyclades,  and  especially  so  of  the  neighbouring  island 
of  Paros,  and  doubtless  was  an  object  of  commerce  to  these  very 


ANTIPAROS,  407 


people ;  so  we  need  not  be  surprised  at  the  skill  displayed  in 
working  it. 

We  will  next  discuss  the  obsidian  implements  which  I  found. 
In  the  poorer  graves  in  the  first  cemetery  there  was  not  a  trace 
of  volcanic  glass  implements,  whilst  in  the  richer  ones  obsidian 
flakes  or  knives  were  very  common;  but  here  again  I  found  no 
arrow-heads,  which  occur  in  great  quantities  in  other  places  where 
obsidian  implements  are  found  in  Greece.  In  Antiparos  the  in- 
habitants had  their  obsidian  close  at  hand,  for  a  hill  about  a  mile 
from  the  south-eastern  graveyard  is  covered  with  it.  I  take  it  that 
the  graves  must  date  from  the  very  first  introduction  of  the  know- 
ledge of  making  these  instruments,  as  there  were  none  in  the 
poorer  graves,  and  flakes  only  in  the  richer  ones. 

Obsidian,  of  course,  is  found  in  abundance  in  other  parts  of  the 
world,  and  old  graves  on  continental  Greece  produce  many  similar 
specimens.  Obsidian  cores  come  from  Hungary,  Mexico,  Terra 
del  Fuego,  &c.  Cerro  de  Navajos  is  an  obsidian  hill  in  Mexico, 
formerly  the  Sheffield  of  that  country,  where  they  made  all  their 
knives  prior  to  the  Spanish  invasion.  Quantities  of  obsidian  im- 
plements are  picked  up  now  in  the  fields  around  there.  When 
Cortes  invaded  Mexico  he  found  the  barbers  of  the  Aztec  capital 
shaving  the  natives  with  razors  of  precisely  the  same  nature  as  the 
obsidian  flakes  I  found  at  Antiparos. 

The  art  of  making  them  has  perished,  but  the  theory  is  plain  ; 
any  maker  of  gun  flints  could  do  it.  The  Indians  still  have  a  plan 
of  working  obsidian  by  laying  a  bone  wedge  on  the  surface  of  a 
core  and  tapping  it  till  the  stone  cracks ;  their  productions  are 
exactly  similar  to  the  flakes  I  found  in  Antiparos,  as  I  have  certified 
by  comparing  them  in  the  British  Museum. 

In  the  next  place  I  found  a  considerable  number  of  metal  orna- 
ments in  the  graves  at  Antiparos.  I  have  in  my  possession  a 
narrow  twisted  torque  of  silver  with  a  large  percentage  of  copper, 
rings  of  silver  with  the  same  oxide  on,  as  certain  rings  found  in 
Etruria,  which  cuts  like  horn,  a  band  of  bronze  with  about  seventy- 
five  per  cent,  of  copper  in  it,  and  covered  with  an  incrustation  of 
red  oxide  and  green  carbonate  of  copper,  and  that  little  silver 
figure  I  mentioned  above,  with  a  thick  incrustation  of  chloride  of 
silver ;  thus  giving  us  silver,  copper,  and  bronze  in  use  at  the  time 
of  these  graves. 

Lastly,  we  will  treat  of  the  pottery,  which,  after  all,  is  the  most 
important  item,  and  demands  our  chief  attention.    Pottery  such  as 


4o8  THE  CYCLADES. 

I  found  at  Antiparos  is  now  for  the  first  time  associated  with  the 
marble  figures  and  marble  household  utensils,  thus  giving  us  some 
little  further  insight  into  the  advance  the  people  who  fashioned  these 
figures  had  made  in  domestic  art.  On  none  of  this  pottery  is  there 
the  faintest  trace  of  writing  or  inscriptions,  thereby  suggesting  that 
the  people  were  not  Phoenicians  or  Sidonians,  as  the  legend  says, 
for  most  Phoenician  remains  have  traces  of  inscriptions  on  them. 

In  the  poorer  graves  we  seldom  found  anything  else  but  pottery : 
it  is  all  of  a  rude  character  and  frequently  incised  with  rude  patterns. 
The  vase  shaped  like  a  sea  urchin  is  covered  with  a  sort  of  herring- 
bone pattern,  and  stands  about  a  foot  high. 

The  pattern  is  common  on  very  early  Hellenic  glass,  and  is  the 
same  as  what  we  often  see  on  ancient  British  vases.  Most  of  the 
vases  are  very  true,  too  much  so  to  be  hand-made,  and  consequently 
we  may  presume  that  many  of  them  were  turned  on  a  potter's 
wheel.  There  is  no  trace,  however,  of  a  pattern  from  animal  or 
vegetable  life  on  these  vases,  all  being  herring-bone  or  criss-cross  ; 
this  would  place  our  pottery  anterior  to  that  of  Hissarlik,  on  which 
we  see  attempts  at  the  representations  of  eyes,  noses,  and  breasts. 

The  clay  is  very  poor  and  very  slightly  baked ;  much  of  it  is 
black  inside,  as  if  the  pots  had  been  dried  in  a  closed  place,  so  that 
the  smoke  has  penetrated  the  clay.  Then,  again,  we  have  frequent 
specimens  with  bits  of  marble  in  the  clay  to  prevent  it  contracting. 
As  to  shape,  the  specimens  are  very  varied :  there  were  lids  without 
their  bottoms,  and  frequent  vases  with  a  rim  for  a  lid  which  was 
missing;  most  of  them  had  vertical  or  horizontal  holes,  through 
which  a  string  had  been  passed  for  suspension. » 

Of  course  no  importance  can  be  attached  to  the  following  facts, 
but  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  in  a  cavern  in  Andalusia  a  fragment 
of  a  vase,  now  in  the  museum  of  St.  Germain-en- Lay e,  was  found 
with  vertical  tubular  holes  for  suspension  exactly  like  some  I  found 
at  Antiparos.  Similar  ones  have  been  found  in  Breton  dolmens, 
and  in  the  museum  of  Nordiske  Oldsager  there  exists  a  vase  found 
in  a  Danish  barrow,  covered  with  a  lid,  and  having  on  each  side 
corresponding  perforations  through  which  strings  could  be  passed, 
exactly  like  one  I  found  in  the  richest  grave  I  opened  in  Antiparos. 
Curiously  enough  this  grave  was  the  only  one  I  opened  in  which  I 
found  no  trace  of  bones.   I  thought  that  perhaps  traces  of  cremated 

*  Most  of  these  remains  have  been  purchased  from  me  by  the  authori- 
ties of  the  British  Museum. 


ANTIPAROS.  409 


bones  might  be  found  in  the  earth  which  filled  the  vase,  but  there 
were  found  to  be  none  existing,  and  the  earth  had  evidently  made 
its  way  into  and  filled  the  pot  through  a  crack  in  the  side. 

A  vase  in  the  British  Museum  from  Forth  Daforet,  in  Anglesea, 
has  exactly  the  same  pattern  on  it  as  one  I  have,  and  bits  of  marble, 
or  quartz  probably,  in  the  clay  to  prevent  contractions  are  very 
commonly  found  in  ancient  British  vases.  These  points  are  merely 
speculations  of  course,  and  prove  nothing,  but  still  they  are  curious 
as  prehistoric  coincidences. 

One  further  point  with  regard  to  this  pottery  I  must  mention, 
which  perplexed  me  considerably  at  the  time.  About  two  hundred 
yards  from  the  poorer  graveyard  I  opened  a  small  isolated  grave, 
evidently  that  of  a  child ;  in  it  I  found  a  lamp  and  a  mug  of  much 
more  recent  date,  probably  at  the  most  three  centuries  B.C.  The 
grave  was  formed  in  exactly  the  same  way  as  the  others,  and  the 
only  solution  to  the  problem  is  this,  that  a  child  died  on  a  boat 
which  was  storm-bound  in  the  harbour,  and  was  buried  here,  the 
materials  and  method  for  making  the  grave  being  taken  from  the 
neighbouring  graveyard.  Even  now  barques  are  frequently  storm- 
bound down  there,  and  wait  for  weeks  for  a  favourable  wind  to 
take  them  to  their  destination.  With  regard  to  a  skull '  I  brought 
home  from  a  grave  in  Antiparos  I  fear  nothing  can  be  proved 
from  the  study  of  an  isolated  specimen  ;  suffice  it  to  say  that  it 
is  brachycephalic,  an  unusual  circumstance  for  skulls  found  in 
Greece ;  and  in  other  ways  this  skull  differs  entirely  from  those 
hitherto  found  there.  By  comparing  several  of  the  skulls  some 
conclusions  might  be  arrived  at,  but,  of  course,  this  would  present 
difficulties. 

Nothing  can  be  decided  without  the  aid  of  geology  as  to  the 
dates  of  these  graves ;  but  with  the  aid  of  geology  something 
might  possibly  be  done,  and  it  would  turn  on  two  points.  First, 
as  to  the  time  of  the  submersion  of  the  houses  at  Antiparos  by  the 
encroachment  of  the  sea,  which  has  evidently  been  brought  about 
by  the  wearing  through  of  the  narrow  slip  of  land  between  Anti- 
paros and  Despotiko ;  and  secondly,  as  to  the  date  of  the  first 
great  convulsion  of  nature  which  changed  Santorin  from  a  lovely 
island,  called  x]  KaWiarrjy  into  a  mass  of  pumice. 

No  tradition  or  allusion  to  this  stupendous  event  is  made  by 
Herodotus  or  other  writers,  and  Herodotus  gives  us  the  traditions 

*  The  skull  I  presented  to  the  Royal  College  of  Surgeons. 


4IO  THE  CYCLADES. 


of  Santorin  as  far  back  as  the  sixteenth  century  B.C.  M.  Fouqud, 
the  French  geologist  who  went  to  Santorin  to  study  the  recent 
eruption,  stated  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  first  convulsion  took 
place  twenty  centuries  B.C.  Tradition,  by  its  silence,  and  geology, 
by  its  surmises,  combine  in  placing  this  eruption  before  the  six- 
teenth century,  and  the  *  finds '  of  the  French  School  in  Santorin  and 
Therasia  were  of  a  date  prior  to  this  eruption,  for  the  prehistoric 
villages  were  covered  with  the  layer  of  pumice  which  resulted  from 
that  eruption,  which  in  its  magnitude  must  have  equalled  the  recent 
calamity  in  the  Sunda  Straits. 

Now,  with  the  one  exception  of  marble,  my  *  finds '  at  Antiparos 
are  inferior  in  artistic  merit  to  both  those  of  Santorin  or  Hissarlik, 
and  hence  doubtless  anterior,  for  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  a 
knowledge  of  making  superior  pottery  existed  on  one  island  and 
was  unknown  on  another  so  close  to  it  as  Antiparos  is  to  Santorin, 
especially  as  M.  Fouqu^  proves  that  there  existed  considerable 
commercial  intercourse  between  these  islands. 

By  the  contemplation  of  the  vast  population  which  inhabited  the 
islands  of  the  ^Egean  Sea,  we  are  carried  back  into  the  remotest 
antiquity ;  and  a  vast  population  it  must  have  been,  for  every  island 
is  full  of  these  graves.  In  our  travels  we  found  many  of  the  marble 
figures  and  bowls  in  the  peasants'  houses,  which  they  had  found 
whilst  digging  in  their  fields ;  but  from  observation  I  may  state  that 
the  great  centre  of  this  population  was  Paros,  for  the  eastern  side  of 
the  island  is  a  perfect  necropolis,  whereas  the  richest  *  finds '  and 
the  best  designed  figures  have  come  from  Amorgos,  and  the  rudest 
ones  I  have  seen  are  those  I  found  at  Antiparos.  I  am  convinced 
that  a  further  study  of  this  subject  under  a  more  vigorous  system 
of  excavation  than  I  was  able  to  bestow  on  it  would  result  in 
many  interesting  facts  becoming  known  about  this  primitive  race 
of  mankind. 


ANTIPAROS,  411 


2.  Zeppo^s  Story. 

I  had  been  opening  the  graves  of  the  prehistoric 
inhabitants  of  the  island  of  Antiparos  for  some  days,  and 
was  getting  weary  of  this  sexton-like  kind  of  life  ;  ac- 
cordingly, when  St  Simeon's  Day  broke  fine  and  cloud- 
less, as  February  days  will  do  in  these  parts,  and  when 
my  grave-diggers  refused  to  work,  it  being  a  saint's  day, 
I  determined  to  spend  my  compulsory  holiday  on  the 
sea. 

A  day's  fishing  here  amongst  the  Greek  islands  has 
many  novel  charms  ;  new  species  of  fish,  new  methods 
of  catching  them.  And  then  the  mongrel  companion 
of  my  sport  was  exceedingly  novel,  too.  Zeppo  was 
his  name,  and  Zeppo  had  a  wonderful  story  to  tell, 
the  substance  of  which  I  already  knew,  but  my  friends 
told  me  to  get  Zeppo  to  tell  it  himself,  and  they  assured 
me  that  I  should  never  forget  it. 

He  was  a  handsome  man,  somewhat  over  fifty,  with 
grizzled  hair,  and  wore  the  wide,  blue,  baggy  trousers  of 
the  Greek  islanders,  which  wabble  between  their  legs  like 
the  stomach  of  a  goose ;  he  wore  on  his  head  a  red  fez 
with  a  long  blue  tassel,  and  as  he  sat  at  the  stern,  holding 
the  sail  in  one  hand  and  the  rudder  in  the  other,  I  wished 
I  had  been  a  portrait  painter,  his  appearance  was  so 
quaint  I  knew  his  character  well,  for  he  had  been  our 
factotum  for  days  past,  knowing,  as  he  did,  every  inch  of 
the  island.  He  had  guided  us  to  the  graveyards  where 
treasures  were  to  be  found  ;  he  had  carried  a  pick  and 
probed  the  ground  for  the  gravestones,  but  when  these 
were  removed  he  invariably  decamped,  for  he  admitted 


4J2  THE  CYCLADES, 


to  a  dread  of  skulls  and  bones.  Then  he  would  light  a 
fire  of  brushwood  at  a  respectful  distance  and  smoke  a 
cigarette ;  nothing  would  induce  him  to  come  near  the 
grave  again.  Zeppo  was  essentially  lazy,  highly  super- 
stitious, and  not  ashamed  to  admit  his  fear.  He  told  me 
his  father  had  been  a  pirate,  but  when  the  profession 
grew  precarious  he  had  wisely  given  it  up,  and  settled 
at  Antiparos  as  a  vendor  of  foreign  goods  (principally 
smuggled)  at  exorbitant  prices  to  the  peasants,  which 
trade  his  son  and  heir  carried  on  with  equal  success.  On 
his  mother's  side  Zeppo  boasted  of  Turkish  extraction  ; 
his  name  is  Italian,  as  is  often  the  case  with  the  Greek 
islanders,  so  Zeppo  is  in  every  sense  of  the  word  a 
mongrel — a  cringing  coward,  very  cunning,  and  highly 
amusing.  His  great  forte  is  fishing,  and  in  his  capacity 
of  fisherman  he  is  looked  up  to  and  consulted  by  all 
his  neighbours. 

To  understand  the  following  narrative  it  will  be 
necessary  to  look  at  the  map  to  see  exactly  the  lay  of 
the  land,  or  rather  the  water,  in  these  parts.  Antiparos 
is  the  small  island  to  the  west  of  Paros,  from  which 
it  is  separated  only  by  a  narrow  strait  It  is  a  wild, 
barren  island  which  knows  no  law.  Even  now,  if  the 
profession  of  piracy  is  virtually  extinct,  marauding  is 
not,  as  the  goatherds  know  full  well,  to  their  cost. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  island  to  the  village  of 
Antiparos,  about  two  hours  on  muleback  over  the  moun- 
tains, are  a  few  scattered  houses  gathered  round  the 
calamine  mines.  Here  we  were  staying,  close  to  our 
graveyard,  and  here  Zeppo  has  his  store  and  dispenses 
his  goods  to  the  miners.  Separated  from  Antiparos  by 
another  narrow  strait,  which  swells  out  into  an  excel- 
lent harbour  just  below  these  houses,  is  another  island, 
Despotiko  by  name.   This  is  four  miles  across,  very  hilly, 


ANTIPAROS,  413 


and  covered  with  brushwood,  being  let  to  two  herdsmen 
for  eighty  okes  of  cheese  and  one  kid  apiece  per  annum, 
that  is  to  say,  about  8i.  sterling.  Beyond  this  island  of 
Despotiko  yet  again  there  is  another  small  round  island, 
called  Strongylo  (St/o677i;Xo),  separated  again  by  a  narrow 
Strait,  and  only  visited  in  the  summer  by  a  stray  goat- 
herd in  search  of  pasturage  for  his  flocks.  We  sailed 
past  it  one  day  with  Zeppo,  who  trembled  like  an  aspen 
leaf  at  the  sight  of  it,  for  his  recollections  of  it  were 
gruesome.  Thus  we  have  a  chain  of  islands  before 
us — Paros,  Antiparos,  Despotiko,  and  Strongylo.  The 
two  latter  islands  are  fair  specimens  of  the  numerous 
rocks  in  the  iEgean  Sea  which  nowadays  are  never 
visited  except  by  shepherds.  Yet  Despotiko  had  its 
inhabitants  in  ancient  days,  for  there  are  tombs  thereon, 
and  I  excavated  the  foundations  of  a  temple  on  the 
north-east  corner. 

On  Despotiko  live  two  brothers,  Andronico  and 
Stefano ;  they  have  a  mandra,  or  hut,  where  they  look 
after  their  flocks.  They  are  the  sole  occupants  of  this 
island,  and  the  only  other  building  besides  their  hut  is  a 
little  Byzantine  church,  the  remains  of  a  monastery  which 
at  one  time  was  kept  up  by  the  women  of  Antiparos, 
who  went  across  in  turns  to  sweep  and  garnish  it ;  but 
since  Zeppo's  adventure  a  year  ago  none  will  go  near 
it,  and  it  is  fast  falling  into  ruins. 

Zeppo  had  now  lowered  the  sail  and  was  eager  for  the 
fray.  We  were  to  begin  by  catching  an  octopus  or  two, 
at  which  sport  Zeppo  is  unusually  clever.  He  stood  in 
the  bow  of  the  boat  in  a  round  hole  prepared  for  the 
purpose,  with  a  tin  can  with  a  glass  bottom  in  his  hand  ; 
this  he  inserted  into  the  sea,  so  as  to  be  just  below 
the  ripple,  and  thereby  got  an  excellent  view  of  all  that 
was  going  on  at  the  bottom.    He  knew  well  the  haunts, 


414  THE  CYCLADES, 


or  houses,  as  he  called  them,  of  the  octopodia,  and  as  soon 
as  he  saw  one  through  his  glass  he  lowered  his  bait,  and 
induced  the  monster  to  leave  his  lair.  When  it  was 
sufficiently  clear  of  the  bottom  not  to  be  able  to  make 
use  of  its  feelers,  Zeppo  let  it  have  the  bait,  and  soon 
the  wriggling,  writhing  creature  was  landed  in  the  boat. 
Zeppo  was  delighted.  He  took  his  prize  in  his  hands, 
bit  it  on  the  neck,  and  out  gushed  a  black  stream  of 
disgusting  matter  like  that  which  comes  from  the  cuttle- 
fish, and  gets  for  it  its  Italian  name  of  the  *  inkpoL' 

The  octopus  writhed  and  wriggled  for  hours  at  the 
bottom  of  the  boat ;  it  changed  colour,  like  a  chameleon, 
from  brown  to  red,  and  red  to  blue,  and  died  exceedingly 
hard. 

*  Tlavayia  fiov  !  *  *  said  Zeppo  when  he  saw  my  sur- 
prise, *  if  you  put  a  dried  octopus  into  water  a  year  after 
its  death  the  muscles  would  wriggle  again.' 

In  Lent  everyone  eats  octopodia  in  the  Greek 
islands.  It  would  be  Lent  soon,  and  as  we  drew 
octopus  after  octopus  into  the  boat  Zeppo's  spirits  grew 
high. 

I  thought  my  time  for  probing  him  about  his  story 
was  come  ;  like  his  octopus,  I  had  got  him  clear  away 
from  the  bottom,  so  I  held  out  to  him  a  bait. 

*  Zeppo  fiovy  good  thing  there  are  no  pirates  here 
nowadays,*  I  began. 

Zeppo  whistled  a  little,  and  then  broke  off  into  the 
favourite  boatman's  song  in  these  parts  about  a  wounded 
partridge,  as  if  he  had  not  heard  me.  So  I  repeated  my 
remark.  Zeppo  was  now  busily  preparing  an  iron  ring 
to  fix  at  the  end  of  his  trident  ^  (/ca/Ltaf )  for  pinna-fishing  ; 
he  looked  up  stealthily,  and  remarked  slowly  and  with 
emphasis : — 

*  The  Virgin  Mary.  *  Vide  p.  21. 


ANTIPAROS.  4' 5 


*  Don't  believe  them  if  they  say  there  are  no  pirates 
now.' 

I  laughed  him  to  scorn,  and  suggested  how  the 
British  ship  *  Cygnet '  had  cleared  these  waters  of  such 
vermin  ten  years  ago,  and  thereby  I  made  him  clench 
the  bait. 

' 'E(f>ii/Ti,' ^  he  exclaimed  eagerly,  *ril  tell  you 
what  happened  to  me  last  year  over  there  in  Strongylo, 
and  then  tell  me  if  you  think  our  shores  are  free/ 

Zeppo  was  now  wriggling  at  the  end  of  my  line. 

*  Let's  catch  a  few  pinnas  first,'  I  said,  not  wishing  to 
appear  too  eager.  So  Zeppo  rowed  us  to  a  shallow 
part  he  knew  of  as  a  good  arena  for  this  sport,  and  after 
scraping  the  bottom  with  his  iron  ring  at  the  end  of  the 
trident  he  soon  brought  up  several  of  the  long,  red 
pinna  shells,  the  contents  of  which  made  us  an  excellent 
scallop  that  evening  for  dinner. 

*  Well,'  said  Zeppo,  now  volunteering  his  story,  *  last 
year,  about  this  time,  I  went  across  to  Despotiko  to 
shoot  a  few  partridges,  and  I  walked  up  the  hill  yonder 
with  my  gun.  After  some  sport  I  met  the  herdsman 
Andronico,  and  had  a  chat  with  him,  so  that  it  was 
getting  late  when  I  returned  to  the  shore,  and,  as  bad 
luck  would  have  it,  a  heavy  northern  gale  had  set  in, 
and  I  dare  not  cross  to  Antiparos  that  night' 

I  laughed  a  little,  and  assured  Zeppo  that  if  there 
was  a  ripple  on  the  water  he  would  be  alarmed,  and 
then  I  hoped  that  he  passed  a  good  night  in  Andronico's 
mandra, 

'  No,'  said  Zeppo,  *  unluckily  I  didn't ;  the  mandra  is 
small  enough,  and  both  the  brothers  were  at  home  that 
night.  So  I  thought  I  would  pass  the.  night  in  the 
church  by  the  sea  yonder ' — with  this  he  pointed  to  the 

'  Eflfendi. 


4i6  THE  CYCLADES. 


church  I  mentioned  above,  and  I  applauded  his  choice,  for 
certainly  the  interior  of  Andronico's  mandra  is  anything 
but  an  inviting  resting-place.  There  is  a  bed  in  the 
corner,  consisting  of  a  cloak,  or  goat's  skin  chlamys, 
thrown  over  some  sticks ;  the  floor  is  mud,  there  is  no 
door  or  window,  the  wind  whistles  through  the  stones, 
and  you  cannot  stand  up  straight  for  fear  of  getting 
mixed  up  with  the  articles  of  husbandry  that  are  con- 
cealed in  the  roof  Outside  is  an  oval  enclosure  for  the 
flocks,  and  the  stench  is  insupportable.  I  have  been 
threatened  with  a  night  in  a  Greek  mandra  myself, 
but,  like  Zeppo,  I  have  preferred  a  church.  The  church 
in  question  is  close  to  the  shore,  and  is  surrounded  by 
ruined  cells  from  which  the  monks  have  long  been  driven  ; 
inside  it  is  very  mean,  having  a  mud  floor,  no  seats,  and 
a  wooden  screen  covered  with  a  few  sacred  pictures  of 
the  Greek  ritual,  behind  which  is  the  bema^  or  holy  of 
holies,  where  the  priest  celebrates  those  mysteries  which 
must  be  veiled  from  the  eye  of  the  people. 

*  It  was  growing  dark,*  continued  Zeppo,  '  when  I 
entered  the  church.  I  lit  a  light  in  the  oil  lamp  before 
St  MichaeFs  picture,  I  said  a  prayer  to  the  archangel  to 
protect  me,  and  then  lay  down  to  rest' 

Zeppo,  huddled  up  in  a  corner,  with  a  stone  for  his 
pillow,  could  sleep  very  well,  I  knew,  so  as  yet  I  felt 
no  pity  for  him. 

*  Not  long  after  sunset,'  continued  Zeppo,  now  warm- 
ing to  his  subject,  glowing  with  excitement,  and  using 
his  hands  and  arms  to  express  his  earnestness  when 
words  failed  him — '  not  long  after  sunset  I  heard  men's 
voices  from  the  seashore,'  and  he  pointed  to  the  spot, 
which  was  not  twenty  yards  from  the  church,  *and  I 
became  aware  that  a  boat  was  being  drawn  up  on  the 
beach  ;  then  I  distinctly  heard  men  coming  towards  the 


ANTIPAROS.  417 


church,  laughing  and  talking  loudly,  for  they  little 
thought  anyone  was  within  earshot.  I  began  now  to 
wonder  what  sort  of  men  could  be  coming  to  deserted 
Despotiko  at  this  time  of  night,  and,  fearing  their  object 
could  not  be  a  good  one,  I  extinguished  the  light  and 
crept  behind  the  wooden  screen,  so  as  to  be  out  of  sight. 
Presently  three  men  entered  the  church  ;  they  were 
Naxiotes — I  could  tell  by  their  accent — and  all  the  world 
knows  that  the  men  of  Naxos  are  thieves.  A  horrible 
dread  seized  me.  "They  have  come  to  steal  some  of 
Andronico's  goats  ;  if  they  find  me  I  am  lost."  ' 

Here  poor  Zeppo  manifested  such  great  agitation  at 
the  recollection  of  his  terror  that  he  trembled  from  head 
to  foot,  crossed  himself  violently,  and  lit  a  cigarette. 
My  companion  had  all  the  cunning  of  a  periodical  about 
him,  which  doles  out  its  stories  in  instalments  by  the 
month  and  leaves  its  readers  in  suspense. 

*  We  must  fish  a  bit  now  ;  I  will  tell  you  the  rest 
afterwards,'  he  said.     *  Let  us  try  dynamite.' 

I  involuntarily  started  at  this  suggestion ;  but  know- 
ing the .  habits  of  these  lawless  Antipariotes  I  merely 
suggested — 

*  Dynamite  indeed  !  Why,  what  would  the  demarch 
say?' 

*  The  demarch  is  miles  away,  effendi  ;  and  if  he  was 
here  would  enjoy  the  sport  as  much  as  ourselves.' 

I  afterwards  found  this  was  true  enough,  and,  being 
curious,  I  allowed  Zeppo  to  continue  his  nefarious  sport. 
We  rowed  quietly  into  a  little  bay  with  steep  cliffs  rising- 
sheer  out  of  the  water.  Zeppo  landed  ;  he  cautiously 
watched  his  opportunity  for  some  time,  and  then  threw 
in  his  dynamite  cartridge,  which  forthwith  exploded,  and 
the  sea  glittered  with  the  corpses  of  small  fish.  We 
gathered  them   in   with   our   appliances — Zeppo's  was 


4i8  THE  CYCLADES, 


merely  a  piece  of  brushwood  at  the  end  of  a  long  reed, 
mine  was  a  hand  net  fixed  on  to  a  forked  vine-tendril. 
With  these  we  soon  collected  a  basketful  of  small  fry, 
like  whitebait,  and  Zeppo  chewed  some  of  them  and 
threw  the  bits  into  the  sea,  promising  to  return  in  the 
evening  and  kill  larger  fish  with  dynamite,  which  would 
then  have  collected  to  feast  on  the  remains  of  their  lesser 
brethren. 

*  Well,  Zeppo,  how  about  your  friends  in  the  church?' 
I  now  suggested.  *  I  suppose  your  fears  were  ground- 
less ?  ' 

*  *E(l>ipTL ! '  cried  my  companion  with  vehemence  ; 
*  that  night  was  nearly  the  death  of  me  ;  there  I  sat 
shivering  in  a  corner  of  the  bema,  and  listened  to  their 
plans.  As  soon  as  it  was  dawn  they  were  going*  to  dress 
themselves  in  long  black  coats,  black  masks,  and  horns 
on  their  heads.  Thus  disguised  they  were  going  to 
terrify  Andronico  or  his  brother — whoever  was  tending 
the  flocks — seize  as  many  of  their  goats  as  they  could, 
and  sail  back  to  Naxos.  Meanwhile  they  lay  down  to 
sleep,  and  I  peered  out  from  my  retreat,  hoping  to  make 
my  escape  and  warn  Andronico,  for  no  one  knew  better 
than  I  how  easily  terrified  he  would  be  by  this  device — 
there  is  not  a  goatherd  in  all  the  islands  who  sees  more 
Nereids  and  hobgoblins  than  he  ;  but  my  courage  failed 
me,  and  I  thought  it  best  to  remain  where  I  was,  and 
then  they  might  go  without  observing  me.  But  oh, 
what  a  night  I  spent !  No  sleep,  no  rest,  nothing  but 
a  vague  dread  of  the  morning  and  the  coming  light. 
The  three  men  slept  for  some  hours,  and  I  prayed  hard 
to  the  Panagia,  and  St.  Michael,  and  all  the  saints  to 
protect  me.  At  length  they  awoke,  and  prepared  to 
put  on  their  disguise.  I  heard  in  the  distance  the  tinkling 
oi'  the  bells  on  the   goats,  and    I  heard,  too,  Andro- 


ANTIPAROS,  419 


nico  playing  his  bagpipe,  which  sounded  prophetically 
mournful  this  morning.  Yet  still  I  hoped  that  my 
danger  would  soon  be  over  ;  whilst  they  were  stealing 
the  goats  I  would  hurry  to  my  boat  and  be  off.  Imagine 
my  horror,  effendi,  when  one  of  the  men  suggested  look- 
ing behind  the  tempelon  to  see  if  the  priest  had  left 
anything  worth  stealing.  I  crouched  down  to  look  as 
if  I  was  a  bundle  of  clothes.  I  buried  my  head  in  my 
knees,  but  all  in  vain  ;  the  fellows  saw  me,  and  dragged 
me  out  more  dead  than  alive  into  the  body  of  the  church, 
and  sat  down  to  decide  on  what  to  do  with  me.  I 
swore  by  all  that  was  holy  not  to  betray  them — I  even 
swore  in  my  terror  to  aid  them  if  they  would  only  spare 
my  life;  but  the  wretches  merely  laughed  and  kicked 
me,  calling  me  a  spy,  a  traitor,  and  horrible  names 
which  made  my  blood  run  cold.  Two  of  them  voted  for 
despatching  me  at  once,  saying  that  "  dead  men  tell 
no  tales,"  but  the  third,  a  more  humane  man,  opposed 
them,  and  said  that  "murdered  men  brought  fellows 
to  the  gallows."     So  they  quarrelled  for  a  while,  and 

I '  here  Zeppo's  voice  forsook  him,  and  he  fell  to 

trembling  again,  and  found  it  necessary  to  light  another 
cigarette. 

We  felt  hungry  by  this,  so  suggested  that  we  should 
land  and  have  our  meal,  and  then  I  would  hear  the  rest 
afterwards.  Meanwhile  I  got  my  valiant  companion  to 
spear  me  with  his  trident  some  specimens  of  the  sponges 
which  cover  the  bottom  of  the  sea  here ;  they  are  like 
lumps  of  coal  adhering  to  the  rocks,  and  oh,  how  they 
stink  !  We  felt  as  if  we  could  never  again  wash  with  one  ; 
slimy  horrid  things,  out  of  the  pores  of  which  oozes  a 
putrid-smelling  liquid.  The  sponge-fishers  jump  on  them 
on  the  rocks  to  rid  them  of  this  horrid  substance,  and 
then  cleanse  them  thoroughly  before  drying  them  and 

B  E  2 


420  THE  CYCLADES. 


sending  them  off  to  Europe.  Zeppo  is  an  excellent  hand 
at  spearing  sponges  with  his  Kdfia^,  and  sea  urchins,  too, 
with  a  long  split  reed,  which  he  fixes  with  great  precision 
into  the  animal  and  brings  him  up.  Fishing  in  Greek 
waters  requires  great  practice  and  skill  ;  fly  fishing,  I 
thought,  would  be  tame  after  it. 

Armed  with  sea  urchins,  whitebait,  and  a  basket  of 
provisions,  we  put  into  a  little  cove,  where  the  volcanic 
rocks  had  formed  fantastic  arches,  and  where  we  were 
sheltered  from  the  wind.  Zeppo  lit  a  fire  with  sticks, 
threaded  a  lot  of  whitebait  on  to  a  bit  of  reed,  and 
proceeded  to  fry  them  on  the  ashes  ;  but  when  fried 
he  insisted  on  dipping  them  into  the  sea  to  cool  them 
and  givQ  them  a  relish,  of  which  we  did  not  approve. 
We  ate,  drank,  and  smoked  well,  and  thus  fortified,  I 
thought  Zeppo  would  be  better  able  to  continue  his 
story. 

*  So  they  did  not  kill  you  after  all  ? '  I  remarked. 

*  Kill  me,  effendi !  better  that  than  what  they  did.' 

*  Grood  gracious,  Zeppo  !  •  I  should  have  thought  they 
could  not  have  treated  you  worse  than  to  cut  your 
throat' 

*  Listen,  effendi,'  rejoined  he  with  eagerness  ;  *  they 
bound  my  hands  and  feet  so  that  I  could  not  move,  and 
then  went  out  of  the  church  to  consult  on  my  fate.' 
The  recollection  of  the  suspense  of  this  moment  nearly 
overcame  Zeppo  again,  but  after  a  moment  or  two  of 
silence  and  the  formation  of  another  cigarette  he  re- 
covered himself  and  continued  : — 

*  They  came  back  very  soon,  and  two  of  them  leisurely 
put  on  their  horns ' — Zeppo  shuddered  as  he  recollected 
this  horrible  fact — *  and  the  third,  pistol  in  hand,  was 
left  to  guard  me  in  the  church.  "If  you  utter  a  sound 
I   will  blow   your  brains  out,'  he   said,  and  you  may 


ANTIFAROS,  421 


be  sure  I  was  quiet  enough.  Presently  I  heard  a  shriek 
of  wild  terror,  and  I  knew  well  that  Andronico  had 
rushed  away  from  the  horrible  phantasms.  Then  there 
came  the  piteous  cry  of  kids  being  carried  from  their 
mothers  by  the  ruffians  down  to  the  boat.  They  were 
half  an  hour  away  at  least,  and  then,  having  got  as  many 
animals  as  they  could  carry,  they  returned  to  the  church, 
and  I  fell  to  trembling  again,  believing  that  now  certainly 
my  last  moments  had  come.  The  diabolical  fellows 
with  their  horns  seemed  to  me  to  have  come  up  straight 
from  Hades.  I  am  sure  when  I  see  Charon  himself  I 
shall  feel  less  terrified.  I  could  not  answer  them  when 
they  asked  me  from  whence  I  was  and  how  I  had  come 
here.  I  simply  indicated  where  my  boat  was  with  a 
nod  of  my  head,  and  they  had  already  appropriated 
my  gun.  Naturally  they  were  in  a  hurry  to  be  off,  and 
so  they  dragged  me  after  them  in  an  agony  of  terror. 
They  drank  a  glass  of  raki  all  round,  and  then  threw 
me  into  the  boat.  Of  course  I  now  felt  sure  they  were 
going  to  drown  me  out  at  sea,  where  my  body  would 
tell  no  tales,  and  I  hardly  noticed  them  as  they  tied  my 
poor  little  boat  behind  their  ca'fque.  I  never  saw  it 
again  after  that  day,*  he  sighed,  *  and  it  was  twice  as 
smart  a  boat  as  this  one,'  and  he  looked  disparagingly 
at  the  clumsy  tub  which  was  riding  quietly  at  the  end 
of  the  painter  a  few  yards  from  us. 

*  On  reaching  the  ca'fque  they  threw  me  down 
amongst  the  kids,  and  there  I  lay  for  a  couple  of  hours, 
hardly  aware  that  we  were  sailing  rapidly  through  the 
water.  I  thought  of  all  my  misdeeds,  and  I  prayed  the 
Panagia  to  intercede  for  me.  I  thought  of  my  old  wife, 
and  how  she  would  tear  her  hair  and  beat  her  breast  at 
the  lamentations  that  she  would  hold  to  commemorate 
my  decease.' 


422  THE  CYCLADES. 


This  was  too  much  for  Zeppo  ;  he  wept  copiously  at 
the  recollection  of  his  peril.  Though  sorry  for  the  man, 
I  could  hardly  restrain  a  smile,  but  wishing  to  hear  him 
to  the  end  I  refrained,  and  suggested  a  temporary 
diversion  in  favour  of  fishing.  We  gathered  up  our 
crumbs  and  got  into  the  boat,  this  time  directing  our 
course  to  a  deep  cave  or  grotto,  up  which  the  sea  runs 
nearly  lOO  feet  deep  into  the  volcanic  rock.  The 
passage  was  very  narrow,  only  just  room  for  the  boat 
to  pass.  The  colouring  was  lovely,  reminding  me  of  the 
blue  grotto  at  Capri,  and  just  below  the  water  line  the 
rocks  were  covered  with  gaudy  sea  lichens,  red  sponges, 
and  corals  of  rich  beauty.  Presently  we  heard  a  noise 
from  the  upper  end  of  the  cave,  and  Zeppo  whispered, 

*  Seals.'  He  stood  in  the  bows  with  a  dynamite  cartridge 
in  his  hand  ready  for  execution,  but  the  seals  heard  us 
too  soon  and  came  snorting  and  dashing  past  us  before 
Zeppo  had  time  to  ignite  the  fuse.  We  went  up  to  the 
end  of  the  grotto  and  found  their  bed  on  the  shingle  still 
warm,  and  the  smell  horrible.  I  could  not  help  thinking 
how  kind  that  goddess  must  have  been  who  brought 
Menelaus  and  his  men  *  sweet  smelling  ambrosia '  and 
put  it  under  their  noses  when  they  were  lying  in  ambush 
in  fresh  seal-skins. 

Zeppo's  equilibrium  was  again  restored.  So  I  ven- 
tured to  question  him  further  about  his  terrible  sail  with 
the  kids,  in  momentary  expectation  of  being  thrown 
overboard. 

*  It  must  have  been  over  two  hours,'  he  continued, 

*  before  we  ran  under  a  cliff,  and  they  hauled  me  out  of 
the  bottom  of  the  caYque,  trembling  and  more  scared 
than  ever.  They  undid  my  cords  and  lowered  a  boat, 
into  which  two  of  them  jumped,  calling  upon  me  to 
follow ;   but,  what  with  being  tied  so  tight   and   what 


ANTIPAROS.  423 


with  fear,  my  legs  refused  to  carry  me,  and  the  captain 
gave  me  a  kick  behind,  which  hurt  me  very  much, 
but  had  the  effect  of  sending  me  into  the  boat ;  then 
they  rowed  me  to  shore,  and  I  soon  discovered  that 
they  were  taking  me  to  Strongylo.  "  By  the  holy 
Panagia ! "  thought  I,  "  what  are  they  going  to  do  with 
me  here  ?  k  11  me  and  leave  my  remains  on  the  shore, 
where,  perhaps,  nobody  will  find  them  for  months  ?  I 
may  never  get  buried  at  all,"  I  thought,  "  and  my  spirit 
will  wander  about  and  drive  my  wife  out  of  her  wits," ' 
and  here  Zeppo  again  shed  tears  at  the  prospect  he 
once  had  of  becoming  a  ghost 

*  But  no,  this  was  not  their  intention.  They  almost 
threw  me  on  shore  in  their  hurry  to  be  off,  and  hurled  a 
loaf  of  bread  after  me,  saying,  as  they  did  so,  "  Good  day, 
brother !  we  shall  be  far  enough  before  anyone  comes  to 
release  you  from  Strongylo." 

*  I  sat  down  on  the  beach,  dazed  and  bewildered  ;  I 
saw  the  caique  unfurl  her  sails  and  round  the  corner  of 
Despotiko,  with  my  boat  in  tow,  and  through  thankful- 
ness at  being  rid  of  my  tyrants  I  did  not  realise  that  my 
position  was  anything  but  an  enviable  one.  I  was  alone 
on  Strongylo,  without  a  boat,  without  a  gun,  without 
any  means  of  communication  with  a  human  being.  It 
was  winter  still  ;  Andronico  might  not  come  with  his 
flocks  for  weeks.  I  could  not  swim  across  to  De- 
spotiko— it  was  too  far,  and  I  knew  the  current  was 
very  rapid  here.  I  knew  every  inch  of  Strongylo  well, 
and  knew  that  it  was  exceedingly  barren,  and  at  that 
time  of  the  year  scarcely  any  herbs  worth  eating  grew 
there.  Moreover  there  is  not  a  mandra  or  a  church  on 
the  island,  and  I  vowed  there  and  then  to  try  and  get  a 
church  erected  to  the  Panagia  if  she  would  relieve  me 
from  this  plight 


424  THE  CYCLADES. 


'  I  don't  know  how  long  I  sat  in  this  reverie — it 
might  have  been  hours.  But  at  length  I  was  aroused 
from  it  by  a  downpour  of  rain  ;  the  north  wind  had  given 
place  to  a  Grego  Levante ;  ^  and  my  only  consolation 
was  that  my  pirate  friends  would  experience  great  diffi- 
culty in  getting  back  to  Naxos  with  their  ill-gotten  gains. 
I  picked  up  my  loaf  and  retired  to  a  cave  I  knew  of, 
where  I  had  often  rested  when  in  search  of  quails  at  the 
season  of  the  quail  flight — in  fact,  I  had  often  spent 
nights  in  Strongylo.  But  then  it  was  August,  and  I 
knew  that  my  boat  was  waiting  for  me  on  the  shore. 

'  I  remained  a  week  on  Strongylo  without  anything 
of  importance  occurring ;  every  day  I  ate  a  bit  of  my 
bread,  and  found  sea  urchins,  limpets,  and  other  shell 
fish  amongst  the  rocks,  enough  to  stave  off  hunger,  and, 
furthermore,  it  was  the  great  Forty  Days  ^  then,  so  I 
could  not  wish  for  more.  I  knew,  too,  of  a  spring  up  on 
the  side  of  the  mountain,  so  I  did  not  feel  any  discomfort 
on  this  point,  and  hoped  now  to  be  able  to  support 
myself  till  spring  came  and  Andronico  should  come  to 
my  release.  Every  night  when  it  was  dry  I  lit  a  fire  of 
brushwood,  striking  a  light  with  two  flintstones  on  the 
highest  point  of  Strongylo,  hoping  to  attract  attention 
by  it ;  but  I  had  little  hopes  of  this,  as  Strongylo  is 
much  lowert  han  Despotiko,  and  Andronico's  mandra 
was  on  the  other  side. 

*  Well,  the  days  went  by  slowly  enough ;  some 
bitterly  cold,  some  wet,  and  none  warm,  and,  as  you  see, 
effendi,  I  am  not  so  young  as  I  was.  Twenty  years  ago 
I  could  have  slept  all  night  through  in  that  cave  and 
taken   no  harm  ;  but  now  I   began  to  feel  suspicious 

*  East  wind,  invariably  rainy  in  Greek  islands. 

*  The  Lenten  fast. 


ANTIPAROS.  425 


pains  in  my  limbs,  and  shivering  fits  came  over  me.  No 
one  can  ever  know  how  sad  I  felt  at  these  times.  I  felt 
sure  my  wife  would  consider  that  I  had  been  drowned  ; 
my  boat  would  be  missing,  and  Andronico  would  suggest 
that  I  had  tried  to  cross  over  on  that  stormy  night  and 
been  lost  in  the  attempt,  or  else  he  would  tell  them  that 
I  had  fallen  a  victim  to  those  demons  who  had  scared 
him  so  and  robbed  him  of  his  kids.  Each  shivering  fit 
left  me  weaker  and  more  miserable  ;  I  felt  sure  now 
that  I  should  die  before  rescue  could  come.  Next  day 
my  fever  grew  worse  ;  I  had  no  bread  left ;  I  had  not 
even  strength  to  drag  myself  to  the  rocks  to  look  for 
shell  fish  ;  and  then  followed  a  time  about  which  my 
memory  is  hazy,  and  about  which  I  would  rather  not 
speak.* 

Thus  Zeppo  ended  abruptly,  and  looked  terribly 
solemn.  He  did  not  cry  this  time  or  light  a  cigarette ; 
he  seemed  too  much  overcome  for  emotions  of  any  kind. 
I  felt  now  truly  sorry  for  the  man,  and  had  not  the  heart 
to  question  him  further  on  the  subject. 

*  Let  us  do  some  more  fishing,'  I  suggested  after  a 
long  pause,  trying  to  rouse  him  from  his  reverie ;  and 
mechanically  he  gathered  himself  together  to  prepare 
his  line,  a  plummet  at  the  end,  with  three  hooks  for  bait 
about  a  foot  above  one  another.  With  these  we  caught 
some  red  mullet  and  other  brilliant-scaled  fish  common 
to  these  parts,  and  with  the  effort  Zeppo'^s  spirits  some- 
what returned  :  he  told  me  how  expert  he  was  in  fishing 
for  the  scaros,^  and  described  the  same  method  in  use  now 
that  Oppian  sang  of  in  his  poem  on  fishing.^  The  scaros 
is  a  most  affectionate  fish,  and  will  risk  anything  to  save 
a  female  friend.     Consequently  the  expert  Zeppo,  when 

*  Vide '^.  114.  ^  Oppian's  *AAi€UTm(£,  iv.  40. 


426  THE  CYCLADES, 


he  can  secure  a  female  specimen,  dead  or  alive,  of  this 
species,  fastens  her  to  a  line,  and,  if  dead,  artfully  bobs 
her  up  and  down  so  as  to  assume  the  appearance  of  life. 
The  male  scari  rush  in  shoals  to  the  rescue,  and  Zeppo's 
companion  catches  these  gallant  fish  in  a  net  Zeppo 
promised  me  that  next  time  he  got  hold  of  a  female 
scaros  he  would  preserve  her  for  my  special  benefit,  but 
the  time  never  came.  In  the  mysteries  of  tunny  fishing, 
as  carried  on  in  Greece,  Zeppo  likewise  enlightened  me 
May  is  the  month  for  this  sport,  hence  they  are  called 
fuvytaTLKd^  and  they  use  for  it  nets  with  large  openings 
and  thick  string.  They  choose  a  bay,  and  a  convenient 
promontory,  from  a  post  on  which  they  fasten  their  nets 
while  they  row  out  to  a  rock  in  the  sea,  leave  a  man  on 
this  rock,  and  return  to  shore  by  a  roundabout  route, 
carrying  a  string  with  them,  by  which  they  can  pull  in 
their  net  as  soon  as  the  man  on  the  rock  announces  the 
arrival  of  the  fish  ;  this  is  the  plan  alluded  to  by  Aristotle 
{irspX  ^dxav).  If  the  market  is  overstocked  they  drive 
the  fish  into  a  creek  by  stones,  and  fasten  up  this  creek 
with  brambles,  where  they  remain  ten  or  fifteen  days, 
till  they  are  wanted. 

It  was  too  late  now  to  go  and  try  the  dynamite 
again,  so  Zeppo  just  set  his  nets  for  the  morrow — long 
ones  fastened  on  to  corks  to  float  them,  and  gourds  to 
mark  their  whereabouts,  and  we  returned  home. 

That  very  evening  I  walked  on  quickly  whilst  Zeppo 
was  attending  to  his  boat,  and  found  his  wife  alone. 
She  told  me  the  sequel  to  his  story :  delirium  had  come 
on  with  the  fever — fearful  visions  of  horrid  monsters  and 
horrrible  deaths  haunted  his  dreams.  How  long  this 
lasted  no  one  knew,  but  Andronico  found  him  one  day, 
more  dead  than  alive,  and  brought  him  home  to  his 


ANTIPAROS,  427 


sorrowing  wife,  who  had,  as  she  told  me,  indulged  in 
the  poignant  grief  of  a  Greek  widow. 

Mrs.  Zeppo  had  gone  through  a  lamentation  ceremony 
in  honour  of  her  husband's  memory,  a  fearful,  heartrend- 
ing i^ohios  Opijvos,^  and  it  had  all  been  in  vain. 


»  Vide  p.  212. 


428  THE   CYCLADES. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

KYTHNOS    (THERMIX). 

As  we  entered  the  bay  of  Hagia  Eirene  of  Thermia  we 
thought  we  had  never  visited  a  more  dreary,  inhospitable 
shore.  Not  even  had  we  the  mountains  jutting  boldly  into 
the  sea,  as  they  do  in  all  the  other  Cyclades,  to  relieve 
Thermia  from  its  ugliness.  It  is  treeless,  too,  and  flat,  ex- 
cept at  the  northern  point.  As  our  boat  drew  near  the 
shore  we  witnessed  a  touching  scene — the  departure  of  a 
young  Kythniote  to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  outer  world. 
His  relatives  were  there  to  bid  him  farewell,  giving  way 
to  those  extravagances  of  grief  so  dear  to  the  heart  of 
a  Greek  ;  not  until  the  last  whistle  of  the  departing 
steamer  did  he  tear  himself  away,  and  was  rowed, 
amidst  sobs  and  groans,  to  the  vessel.  They  explained 
to  us  what  a  solemn  affair  departure  for  foreign  parts  is 
considered  here  in  Kythnos  :  quite  a  ceremony  is  gone 
through.  All  his  friends  and  relatives  meet  to  bid  him 
farewell,  and  as  he  crosses  the  threshold  of  his  home  one 
of  the  household  pours  out  of  a  glass  a  libation  of  water 
to  the  gods,  which  is  supposed  to  ensure  abundance  and 
success.  Then  the  farewells  begin  :  the  least  intimate 
embrace  him  at  his  door,  others  accompany  him  part  of 
the  way,  only  his  near  relatives  go  all  the  way  to  the 
harbour,  and  none  of  them  wish  him  a  speedy  return,  for 
it  would  be  a  bad  omen. 


KYTHNOS  {THERMlA).  429 


Some  of  these  long  absences  {^(ovrava  aTro')(a)plafiaTa) 
on  the  part  of  the  males  are  made  very  trying  for  the 
women  left  behind  ;  it  is  considered  for  them  as  a  season 
of  mourning :  all  the  smart  antimacassars  are  removed 
from  the  sofas,  all  ornaments  must  be  put  away,  and 
the  wife  is  expected  to  pass  the  time  in  genuine  widow- 
hood until  her  husband's  return.  She  must  not  dance, 
she  must  not  be  seen  at  feasts,  and  her  visits  must  be 
restricted  to  her  nearest  relatives.  And  the  return 
(yoa-rela)  is  quite  as  joyful  a  ceremony  as  the  other  is 
mournful,  though,  to  the  detriment  of  Kythnos,  it  is  of 
far  rarer  occurrence.  On  the  first  days  after  the  wan- 
derer's return  friends  and  relatives  pour  in  with  presents 
of  food  and  congratulations,  and  the  wife  can  indulge 
once  more  in  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  the  world. 

*  If  your  eyes  water,'  say  the  Kythniotes, '  you  will  see 
a  friend  from  afar  ;  if  your  left  hand  itches  it  will  be  a 
letter  ;  if  the  right,  money,'  and,  true  Greeks  as  they  are, 
the  itching  of  the  right  hand  is  by  far  the  favourite 
symptom.  There  is  a  wretched  wineshop  down  at 
the  port  of  Hagia  Eirene,  where  we  waited  till  our 
mules  could  come  from  Messaria,  the  capital  of  our  new 
realm.  It  was  a  dirty,  repulsive  hole,  kept  by  a  half- 
clad  old  woman  and  her  daughter,  who  looked  at  us 
with  greedy  eyes,  as  if  their  right  hands  had  been  itching 
when  the  steamer  came  in,  and  that  we  were  to  fulfil  the 
prophecy.  As  we  relieved  our  hunger  with  some  cold  fish 
and  bad  wine,  something  really  did  itch  with  a  vengeance, 
for  the  daughter  was  called  upon  to  search  her  mother's 
matted  hair  ;  and  she  searched,  too,  with  evident  succes3 
— an  appetising  sight  for  us  !  Yet  even  in  this  abode  of 
filth  a  structure  called  a  bed  in  one  corner  had  a  beautiful 
bit  of  old  Greek  lace  as  an  ornament  to  its  sheet. 

As  the  mules  were  long  in  coming  we  took  a  boat 


430  THE  CYCLADES. 


and  went  to  visit  the  bathing  establishment  of  Thermia, 
from  which  the  modern  name  of  the  island  is  derived, 
though  since  the  revival  of  Hellenism  it  has  become  the 
fashion  to  call  it  Kythnos,  as  of  old.  It  is  a  large,  uninter- 
esting bathhouse,  German  in  character,  for  it  was  built 
during  King  Otho's  reign  under  the  direction  of  a  German 
doctor  ;  it  contains  the  hot  springs,  and  offers  accommo- 
dation for  over  a  hundred  guests,  who  come  here  in 
the  summer  time  for  the  baths.  In  remote  antiquity 
Kythnos  is  never  alluded  to  as  a  bath  resort,  and  never 
rivalled  iEdipsus,  though  it  is  just  as  easy  of  access, 
and  the  waters  are  stronger.  It  is  probable  that  the 
source  was  unknown  to  the  ancients,  and  that  the  waters 
first  disclosed  themselves  after  an  eruption  of  Mount 
Sorus,  a  now  extinct  volcanic  hole  on  the  hill  behind. 
Kythniote  shepherds  say  that  when  they  lose  a  beast 
down  this  hole  it  will  be  cast  out  again  close  to  the 
baths.  There  are  traces  of  Roman  remains,  however, 
and  tombs  near  the  baths,  and  Rome  had  a  good 
deal  to  say  to  Kythnos  in  the  days  when  the  false 
Nero  set  himself  up  here  and  overran  the  -^gean  Sea 
with  his  piracies.  As  far  back  as  1142  A.D.  the  island  is 
mentioned  as  Thermit,  so  that  the  hot  baths  are  now  of 
considerable  antiquity. 

But  not  till  1782  did  they  build  a  bathing  house  here, 
and  this  was  done  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  great 
Mavrojenes  of  Paros,  who  was  hospodar  of  Wallachia. 
But  the  people  of  the  island  flatly  refused  to  use  the 
waters  ;  they  were  far  too  superstitious,  and  said  that 
the  warm  sprfngs  were  haunted  by  Nereids,  and  that  the 
devils  of  Hades  worked  below.  Even  now  a  Kythniote 
peasant  is  afraid  of  them,  and  tells  you  that  Charon  has 
his  garden  below  here,  where  he  plants  young  men  and 
women  and  small  children  instead  of  flowers ;  but  yet  a 


KYTHNOS  (THERMlA),  431 

Kythniote  has  great  respect  for  his  baths  and  the  new 
establishment,  for  they  bring  money  and  strangers  to  his 
island. 

It  is  certainly  a  dreary  spot  to  go  to  for  a  cure ;  not 
a  tree  near,  and  a  hideous  waste  of  sand,  impregnated 
with  mineral  water,  between  the  bathhouse  and  the  sea ; 
rheumatism  for  life  would  be  preferable  to  a  month  of 
the  burning  summer  spent  here. 

The  town  of  Messariil,  as  its  name  implies,  is  in  the 
middle  of  the  island  :  it  is  a  long,  narrow,  uninterest- 
ing white  place,  running  along  a  low  ridge,  with  two  or 
three  windmills  behind  it  to  break  the  monotony  of 
the  view.  The  inhabitants  looked  uninteresting:  they 
wore  none  of  those  pretty  costumes  which  Ross  saw 
forty  years  ago,  for  they  told  me  that  a  Jew  had  visited 
Kythnos  two  or  three  years  ago,  and  had  bought  up 
every  costume  and  every  scrap  of  embroidery  in  the  place. 

*  Then  does  no  one  wear  the  costumes  now  } '  I  asked 
of  the  demarch  ;  whereat  he  consulted  his  wife,  and  re- 
plied that  the  old  woman  up  at  one  of  the  mills,  who 
was  the  last  to  wear  the  old  dress,  had  died  a  few  months 
ago,  but  that  his  brother,  the  doctor,  had  a  doll  for  his 
children,  dressed  in  detail  as  a  Kythniote ;  and  this  doll 
was  brought  me  for  inspection.  The  costume  must  have 
been  chiefly  remarkable  for  its  puffed  out  sleeves,  short 
skirt,  and  trousers,  fastened  like  knickerbockers  under 
the  knees,  reminding  one  of  a  divided  skirt.  I  was 
grateful  for  seeing  this  doll,  and  annoyed  at  the  Jew ; 
but,  though  he  could  buy  up  their  costumes,  he  could 
not  buy  their  customs,  which  remain  firmly  rooted  in 
Kythnos,  despite  the  numerous  bath  guests  and  the 
steamer  which  comes  from  Athens  once  a  fortnight,  and 
despite  our  host,  Demarch  Bastas,  who  is  one  of  those 
reforming  demarchs,  like  our  host  at  Pholygandros.    He 


432  THE  CYCLADES. 


had  been  at  Alexandria,  where  he  made  money,  and 
now  recognises  how  far  behind  the  rest  of  the  world 
his  island  is  in  civilisation. 

I  never  had  so  much  difficulty  in  going  through  the  ne- 
cessary compliments  of  admiration  as  when  the  demarch 
took  us  over  his  town.  Nothing  will  grow  near  it,  for  it  is 
exposed  to  every  wind,  having  no  sheltering  mountains 
around  it ;  and  I  could  not  divine  why  such  a  spot  could 
ever  have  been  chosen  for  a  town  until  I  heard  the 
legend  that  on  the  fall  of  the  old  mediaeval  town  into 
the  hands  of  the  Turks  an  archon  had  fled  towards 
the  south,  and  his  horse,  wearied  with  the  rapidity  of  his 
flight,  stumbled  down  here:  so  the  archon  recognised  it 
as  his  duty  to  build  on  this  spot,  and  gather  round  the 
Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  the  nucleus  of  a  new  town. 

Kythnos  offers  a  good  illustration  of  the  vicissitudes 
of  a  one-citied  island.  First,  there  are  the  ruins  of  the 
old  Grecian  town  in  a  charming  nook  on  the  western 
coast ;  this  was  inhabited  in  the  Roman  days,  but  deserted 
before  the  introduction  of  Christianity.  Then  there  is 
the  severe  Prankish  town,  built  on  a  beetling  cliff*  to  the 
north  of  the  island,  where,  says  the  local  tradition,  *  on 
Easter  Day,  three  hundred  years  ago,  the  Turks  took  it 
from  the  Franks,  and  a  great  slaughter  took  place,  so 
that  the  sea  was  red,  and  the  redness  thereof  reached 
even  to  Zea  (Keos).'  Close  by  they  still  point  out  a  red 
spot  on  the  rocks,  which,  they  say,  was  made  by  this 
dread  slaughter ;  and  if  you  ask  your  muleteer  he  will 
sing  you  the  Thermiote's  favourite  song  about  the 
mighty  robber  who  placed  a  chain  in  the  sea  from 
Thermit  to  Zea,  and  took  many  ships  in  his  toils,  so 
that  his  riches  were  innumerable.  The  conclusion  of 
this  saga,  relating  the  capture  of  the  fortress  by  the 
Turks,  is  quite  Homeric  in  style,  and  runs  as  follows : — 


KYTHNOS  {THERMlA),  433 

Twelve  years  they  fought,  and  fourteen  more  delayed 

Before  the  walls  of  Thermik's  tower. 

One  day  a  Turk,  a  little  Turkish  maid, 

Dressed  as  a  widow,  all  in  garments  black, 

Dragged  up  the  hill  her  weary  steps, 

And  made  as  though  her  time  was  nigh 

That  she  should  be  delivered  of  a  child. 

*  Open  the  gate,'  she  cried ;  *  open  in  haste  ! ' 

And  the  watchman's  daughter,  conscious  of  her  plight, 

Threw  open  wide  the  portal,  and,  behold, 

A  thousand  men  rushed  in,  ready  for  blood  ! 

So  Thermia^s  history  is  chiefly  written  in  her  ruins 
and  her  sagas.  Messarii  was  probably  founded  by  one 
of  the  Prankish  lords  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
Gozzadini  being  the  family  who  ruled  it  as  an  appanage 
of  the  Naxiote  duchy ;  and  over  the  Church  of  St.  Sabbas 
we  find  the  initials  of  one  of  that  lordly  house. 

Another  episode  in  the  history  of  Thermit,  now  told 
only  by  tradition,  is  the  colonisation  of  the  island  by 
Cretans  during  the  war  which  raged  for  the  possession 
of  Crete  between  Turks  and  Venetians.  A  legend  says 
that  another  church  at  Messarii  was  built  by  an  honest 
Kythniote  under  the  following  circumstances.  A  Cretan 
refugee  entrusted  a  lot  of  money  to  this  man  during 
his  absence,  but  he  never  returned ;  so  the  Kythniote 
thought  the  best  thing  he  could  do  with  the  money  was 
to  build  the  Church  of  the  Transfiguration. 

In  another  church  we  saw  *  the  Virgin  of  Athens,' 
which  name  struck  us  with  reminiscences  of  Byron  ;  but 
this  virgin,  we  are  told,  made  her  escape  from  that  city 
when  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks.  She  took  to 
the  sea  and  was  washed  up  at  Kythnos,  and  she  is  nought 
but  a  bit  of  old  painted  wood,  which  made  me  think  of 
the  sacred  ^oava  of  antiquity,  and  how  they  used  to  be 
miraculously  discovered  in  the  sea,  in  trees,  and  in  the 

F  F 


434  1^^^  CYCLADES. 


earth,  just  like  the  pictures  of  the  Virgin  are  found  by 
the  orthodox  Church. 

It  was  the  first  of  the  Greek  March  ;  a  bright,  warm 
day  enough  ;  and  as  we  walked  about  the  town  we  saw 
a  lot  of  youngsters  busily  engaged  in  going  from  house 
to  house  singing  and  begging.  The  acolytes  from 
the  church  had  got  hold  of  the  cross,  which  they  were 
carrying  covered  with  flowers.  I  got  the  words  from 
a  friend,  and  though  they  are  incoherent  they  are  inte- 
resting. 

*  We  the  three,  the  four,  and  twenty-four  others  have 
gone  round  the  city — the  city — the  metropolis.  March, 
my  brave  March,  and  dread  April,  too !  Cast  figs  in  the 
handkerchief  and  grapes  in  the  basket  Hail,  Adam  ! 
Hail,  Chastity!  Hail,  honoured  Cross!  O  joy  of  the 
apostles  and  wisdom  of  God !  To-day  and  to-morrow 
and  all  the  week,  as  the  cross  is  adorned  with  flowers 
may  the  birds  be  adorned.  Away,  fleas,  rats !  away  to 
the  hills  and  mountains  !  May  your  cocoons  be  many, 
and  tight  and  powerful  and  heavy  with  silk  ! ' 

This  is  no  more  nor  less  than  a  remnant  of  the 
ancient  swallow  festival  (x^XiBovLo-fia).  In  Macedonia, 
on  March  i,  a  wooden  swallow  is  made  and  encircled  in 
leaves  and  put  on  a  post,  to  be  carried  round,  and  the 
boys  sing,  *  The  swallow  has  come  across  the  dark  sea,' 
just  as  in  ancient  days  at  the  swallow  feasts,  revellers 
used  to  go  round  and  collect  *  little  gifts  for  the  swallows* 
(Athenaeus).  Now  in  Thermit,  as  in  Macedonia,  eggs 
are  usually  given  to  the  children  in  return  for  their  song. 
Sometimes,  too,  they  ask  a  riddle  on  this  occasion :  *  On 
the  top  like  a  frying  pan,  below  like  cotton,  behind  like 
scissors.'     Answer :  *  A  swallow.' 

Many  similar  customs  are  carried  on  nowadays  on 
May  I.     They  go  round  and  sing — 


KYTHNOS  {THERMlA).  435 

May  has  come,  and  bids  me  say, 
*  Wintry  days  have  fled  away.' 

And  on  May  i  they  hang  out  garlands  of  flowers  from 
their  windows  and  balconies,  also  bunches  of  green  ears 
of  corn — a  sort  of  dim  relic  of  a  feast  of  Demeter,  and 
recalling  the  old  custom  of  rfpoavOia,  when  at  springtide 
the  women  of  the  Peloponnese  dressed  themselves  in 
flowers  and  held  festival. 

On  Good  Friday  and  Easter  they  go  round  and  sing 
low  dirges  about  Lazarus*  death  and  Hades,  receiving 
presents  of  food  from  each  house  at  which  they  sing. 

On  New  Year's  Eve  the  Thermiotes  prepare  cakes 
made  of  roasted  corn  mixed  with  honey  and  cheese ; 
this  peculiar  compound  they  call  oarovfiiTos  because  it 
is  made  to  the  accompaniment  of  drums  {aToviiiravl^a}, 
TUfnravl^a)),  They  have  the  Kallanda,*  too,  as  elsewhere  ; 
and  to  the  children  who  sing  them,  and  who  throw  in 
rose  leaves  at  the  doors  as  they  go  by,  each  householder 
feels  in  duty  bound  to  present  a  *  love  gift' 

To-day  was,  as  I  have  said,  March  i,  a  day  on 
which  all  good  mothers  insist  on  the  children  putting 
rings  on  their  fingers — perhaps  a  bit  of  coral  or  some  glass 
beads — and  to  this  are  tied  two  coloured  threads  as  a 
protection  against  fevers  ;  they  wear  them  till  Easter 
Day,  when  they  are  burnt  in  a  fire  lighted  at  the  church 
door. 

Messaria  has  been  in  its  day  a  most  unwholesome 
place  ;  there  are  inhabitants  alive  now  who  well  remem- 
ber the  fearful  plague  which  carried  off  seven  hundred 
people  at  the  time  of  the  revolution,  which,  out  of  a  popu- 
lation of  two  to  three  thousand,  is  an  alarming  percentage ; 
and  they  call  this  plague  still  *  the  plague  of  Loutso ' 
— why  I  could  not  find  out — *  when  the  keys  remained  in 

»  Vide  p.  129. 

F  F  2 


436  THE  CYC  LADES, 


the  doors/  alluding  to  the  whole  families  which  were 
swept  away  and  whose  houses  were  left  desolate.  Many 
fled  to  the  hills  at  the  northern  end  of  the  island,  and 
returned  to  find  their  houses  looted  by  pirates,  and 
desolate. 

There  are  inhabitants,  too,  who  remember  when 
Kythnos  was  not  so  bare  and  desolate  as  it  is  now. 
The  foregoing  children's  song  on  March  i  alluded 
to  silkworms,  which  were  much  cultivated  here  formerly  ; 
but  one  day  a  disease  got  amongst  the  worms,  and 
the  inhabitants  cut  down  the  mulberry  trees  for  fuel. 
Olive  groves  also  existed  here,  but  the  pirates  and  the 
Turks  cut  them  down,  for  flat  Thermii  had  not  the 
powers  of  resistance  that  mountainous  Naxos  and  Andros 
possessed.  So  now  it  is  a  poor,  wretched-looking  place, 
and  our  host's  brother,  the  doctor  who  accompanied  us 
in  our  walk,  told  us  how  subject  they  were  to  diseases, 
and  the  difficulties  he  had  to  contend  with  in  combating 
the  numerous  superstitions  attending  them. 

*  Children's  ailments,'  he  said,  *  are  more  especially 
subject  to  this,  and  superstitious  mothers,  in  spite  of  all 
I  can  say  or  do,  insist  on  treating  them  in  their  own  way. 
For  sore  mouths,  called  aftd  (thrush),  for  example,  the 
treatment  is  as  follows.  The  mother  shows  the  sore  to  the 
evening  stars,  spits  on  it,  and  says, "  This  evening  stars  and 
aftity  to-morrow  no  stars  and  no  aftd!^  For  this  ailment 
also  it  is  considered  a  good  thing  to  get  a  sailor  who  has 
been  three  times  round  Cape  Malea  to  spit  three  times 
on  the  poor  child's  sore.' 

Another  favourite  remedy  for  a  sickly  child  is  to 
expose  it  to  the  first  new  moon,  and  for  the  mother  to 
say,  *  May  you  have  glory  for  what  you  will  do,  O  new 
moon  !  I  have  an  empty  flask  ;  fill  it  or  take  it  from 
me  altogether.'     There  is  something  poetically  pathetic 


KYTHNOS  {THERMlA.)  437 

in  this  last  remedy.  Another  one,  of  a  similar  nature, 
which  the  doctor  told  me,  somewhat  reminded  me  of  the 
exposure  of  children  at  Melos  :  ^  the  mother  takes  her 
child  to  a  hole  in  a  rock  about  half  an  hour  from  Messarii, 
and  passes  it  naked  through  this  hole,  being  careful  to 
put  on  new  garments  and  to  throw  away  the  old  ones. 
On  a  Saturday — baking  day  in  this  island — if  a  mother 
has  a  child  in  convulsions  it  is  considered  a  good  plan 
for  her  to  climb  to  the  top  of  the  oven  and  call  out  three 
times,  *  The  wolf  has  taken  my  child  !  *  and  someone  who 
passes  by  will  answer,  *  If  he  has  taken  it  he  will  bring  it 
back.' 

*It  does  not  so  much  matter  about  the  children,' 
continued  the  doctor,  *  if  they  do  die  without  my  being 
called  in,  we  just  say  nothing  about  it.  But  it  is  quite  a 
different  affair  if  we  catch  them  neglecting  a  fever,  and 
trusting  to  the  burning  of  a  reed  in  the  fire  on  St.  John's 
Day — because  they  believe  that  fevers  came  into  the 
world  when  Sj:.  John's  head  was  cut  off — we  are  obliged 
to  have  them  up  and  punish  them  for  their  folly.' 

*  They  have  queer  ideas  about  consumption,  too,  and, 
like  the  Andriotes,*  attribute  it  to  evil  spirits,  called  the 
Erinyes,  which  eat  up  the  vitals  of  the  patient,  and  which 
will  seize  on  anyone  they  can  when  the  person  dies  ; 
so  they  are  careful  to  prevent  any  young  person  from 
entering  the  room,  and  open  a  hole  in  the  roof  over  the 
dead  man's  head  out  of  which  the  spirits  can  escape. 

*  This  does  not  matter  so  much  ;  it  pleases  them  and 
hurts  nobody,'  concluded  the  doctor  laughing. 

The  Thermiotes  are  not  only  superstitious,  they  are 
an  intensely  religious  race.  No  vineyard  should  be 
planted  on  a  Friday,  for  this  was  the  day  of  the  Cruci-^ 
fixion,  and  on  St.  John  the  Baptist's  Day,  in  June,  they 

*   Vide  p.  64.  •  Vide  p.  292. 


438  THE  CYCLADES. 


stop  work  and  sprinkle  the  fig  trees  with  dust,  for  in 
June  the  figs  are  subject  to  destructive  insects  and  scabs ; 
so  St  John  in  Thermii  is  worshipped  as  diropsidcrrrj^ 
or  '^(opi,dp7)s.  You  should  never  do  any  work  if  you 
can  help  it  on  the  days  immediately  preceding  the  full 
moon,  but  for  grafting,  planting,  cutting  trees,  bleaching 
clothes  those  days  are  the  best  which  follow  the  full 
moon,  and  for  killing  pigs,  too,  for  then  the  skin  is  sup- 
posed to  be  in  the  most  perfect  condition. 

A  serpent  dwelling  in  a  house  is  considered  harmless, 
and  called  o  roiraKas ;  they  never  disturb  it,  and  look 
upon  it  as  the  genius  loci.  This  recalls  to  one  what 
Theophrastus  tells  us — that  in  his  days  if  a  serpent  was 
found  in  a  house  an  altar  was  erected  to  it,  and  it  was 
looked  upon  as  a  sign  of  happiness. 

Our  quarters  with  Demarch  Bastas  were  everything 
that  could  be  desired,  for  we  had  an  excellent  bed  and  ex- 
cellent board.  The  wine  of  Kythnos  is  good,  but  it  has 
that  peculiarity  common  enough  on  the  mainland,  but 
which  we  met  here  for  the  first  time  in  the  islands,  it  is 
resinated,  that  is  to  say,  the  barrels  in  which  the  wine  is 
kept  are  covered  inside  with  resin  to  preserve  it,  and 
this  gives  a  very  strong  flavour  of  varnish  to  the  beverage. 
The  Greeks  love  this  resinated  wine — it  acts  as  a  tonic 
— and  in  hot  weather  is  very  refreshing ;  but  foreigners, 
as  a  rule,  are  rather  doubtful  about  it  at  first,  though  I 
do  not  think  the  flavour  is  worse  than  beer  must  be 
when  you  first  drink  it.  The  custom  is  by  no  means  a 
modern  one  ;  Plutarch  (*  Quest.  Nat'  x.)  tells  us  how  the 
ancients  put  sea  water  into  their  wine  to  give  it  a  flavour, 
and  he  also  tells  us  that  the  casks  were  smeared  inside 
with  pitch,  and  that  the  Euboeans  actually  did  put  resin 
into  their  wine  to  flavour  it 

Another  speciality  of   Thermicl   is   its    cheese,   so 


KYTHNOS  (THERMlA).  439 

delicious  that  one  does  not  wonder  at  Epicurus,  who 
said  that  as  often  as  he  wished  to  sup  most  luxuriously 
he  put  Kythniote  cheese  on  the  table  (*  Laertus/  x.  6). 
It  is  a  loose  and  crumbling  cheese,  of  which  you  get  a 
large  helping  given  you  on  a  plate  ;  it  never  sets,  nor  is 
it  put  into  those  skins  which  compress  and  spoil  other 
Greek  cheeses.  The  curdled  milk,  unboiled,  is  slightly 
salted,  and  then  put  into  earthenware  jars  and  pressed 
until  all  the  whey  is  squeezed  out.  Pliny  tells  us  that  it 
was  a  wild  flower  which  grew  in  Kythnos  which  gave 
the  delicious  flavour  to  the  cheese.  I  could  not  discover 
anything  about  it  there,  though  the  Kythniotes  affirm 
that  it  is  their  pasturage  which  makes  the  cheese  so 
good,  just  as  at  los  the  excellence  of  the  mysethra  was 
attributed  to  the  same  cause. ^  At  all  events  we  enjoyed 
our  cheese,  and  thought  it  worth  going  to  Kythnos  to 
eat,  as  Epicurus  would  say. 

They  have  a  cheese  Sunday  in  Lent  at  Kythnos, 
which  is  a  general  festival :  jovial  parties  gather  together 
to  laugh  and  sing,  and  the  children  carry  about  an 
image,  covered  with  grass,  which  they  call  Macaroni, 
because,  say  they,  he  has  come  to  fetch  some  of  that 
commodity.  Accordingly  every  householder  gives  them 
some.  It  is  deemed  very  unlucky  to  sneeze  at  the  cheese 
Sunday  banquet ;  anyone  who  does  must  tear  his 
coat  to  avert  disaster.  Greeks,  in  common  with  other 
nationalities,  regard  sneezing  with  superstition  ;  if  you 
are  a  layman  they  wish  you  good  health,  if  you  are  a 
priest  they  say  *  safety ' ;  why  this  distinction  I  could 
not  find  out. 

Next  day  we  mounted  our  mules  and  went  to  visit 
the  ruins  of  the  old  town — Bryocastro,  as  it  is  called  ; 
'  Jews'  Camp,'  as  many  speculative  etymologists  read  the 

»   Vide-^,  155. 


440  THE  CYCLADES. 

word  :  but  why  *^^palo9  should  become  TApvos  I  am  at  a 
loss  to  imagine ;  surely  it  is  more  simple  to  call  it 
*  Brigands'  Camp/  for  the  last  people  who  inhabited  it 
were  Roman  brigands,  Phrygians,  or  Bpvyssj  as  the  Greeks 
called  them,  and  the  gamma  (7)  goes  for  nothing  in 
modern  Greek  ;  for  except  the  Jew  who  bought  up  the 
Thermiote  costumes  two  years  ago  I  question  if  a  Hebrew 
ever  set  foot  on  the  island.  Greeks  and  Jews  never  did 
get  on  well  together,  the  former  apologising  for  even 
the  mention  of  so  despicable  a  creature  as  the  latter. 

Bryocastro  is  an  hour's  ride  from  the  town,  and  on 
our  way  to  it  we  passed  through  really  a  lovely  valley — 
a  cleft  full  of  green  almond  trees  and  verdure.  Here  all 
the  washerwomen  of  Thermii  assemble  to  wash  their 
linen,  and  the  kind  Demarch  Bastas  has  built  them  a 
shed  to  protect  them  from  the  inclemencijes  of  the 
weather.  Commanding  this  strip  of  fertility  are  the 
ruins  of  an  ancient  Hellenic  tower,  built,  say  the  people, 
by  an  ancient  king  of  Thermit  to  protect  the  washer- 
women from  the  pirates  ;  but  it  is  just  another  instance 
of  the  numerous  watchtowers  in  the  islands  placed  to 
protect  a  fertile  valley,  as  well  as  the  only  stream  near 
the  town. 

The  old  town  of  Kythnos  had  a  charming  position, 
commanding  two  landlocked  bays  and  possessing  an 
acropolis  from  which  an  extensive  view  over  the  distant 
Peloponnese,  Hydra,  and  the  Saronic  Gulf  can  be  gained. 
On  this  acropolis  are  traces  of  a  temple,  an  altar,  and  a 
reservoir,  and  within  the  precincts  of  the  town  are  altars, 
temples,  and  watercourses  in  abundance.  This  acropolis 
is  built  of  extraordinarily  huge  stones,  and  is  known  by 
the  inhabitants  as  the  Dragon's  House.  The  supersti- 
tious always  put  down  these  Cyclopean  walls  to  the 
work  of  dragons,  who  with  their  great  strength  can  tear 


KYTHNOS  {THERMlA),  441 

up  trees  and  hurl  huge  rocks,  like  Polyphemus  of  old  ; 
in  fact,  in  one  of  the  fables  given  by  Von  Halm  the 
dramatis  personce  are  a  dragon,  who  corresponds  to 
Polyphemus,  and  Spanos,  a  wily  traveller,  who  conquers 
the  silly  dragon,  and  resembles  Ulysses.  Out  of  these 
modern  fables  parallels  can  be  found  to  cunning 
Ulysses,  much  struggling  Hercules,  the  Homeric  Cyclops, 
and  a  vast  number  of  mythical  personages. 

Down  by  a  promontory  over  against  a  little  island 
which  was  once  connected  to  the  mainland  by  a  pier  are 
traces  of  the  agora,  and  in  the  sand  below  is  a  head- 
less half-buried  statue,  of  Roman  work,  seated  on  a 
throne.  I  could  not  help  wondering  if  this  statue  had 
ever  been  intended  for  the  false  Nero  who  ruled  here  for 
a  time.  He  was  a  slave  from  Pontus,  who  so  resembled 
Nero  that  he  ventured  to  set  up  as  the  emperor,  on 
the  supposition  that  he  had  escaped  death,  and  M.  R^nan 
thinks  St.  John  had  this  false  Nero  in  his  eye  as  the 
Antichrist  of  the  Apocalypse.  From  this  stronghold 
in  Kythnos  he  must  have  been  a  fearful  scourge  to  the 
iEgean  Sea,  so  much  so  that  the  centurion  Sisenna  on 
his  way  from  Syria  to  Rome  was  nearly  captured  by  him. 
Galba  it  was  who  sent  an  armament,  under  Calpurnius, 
to  Kythnos,  and  put  an  end  to  this  adventurer's  career. 

The  little  island  in  the  bay  is  covered  with  traces  of 
ruins,  and,  as  at  Kimolos,  is  called  by  the  natives 
£^(TKaXstx)}  Hither  the  superstitious  Kythniotes  still 
bring  the  bones  of  one  of  those  dread  wandering  spirits, 
for  a  Kythniote  believes  firmly  in  Broukolakes,  dead  men, 
who  for  their  crimes  haunt  the  world  and  commit  horrors 
after  death.  The  priest  opens  the  tomb  of  such  an  one 
on  a  Friday,  being  the  only  day  of  the  week  in  which  the 
dead  man  is  supposed  to  remain  quiet  in  his  tomb,  he 

>  Vide  p.  55. 


442  THE  CYC  LADES, 

then  puts  the  bones  into  a  sack  and  carries  them  to  this 
lonely  island  and  turns  them  out  of  the  sack.  The  idea 
is  that  a  ghost  cannot  cross  water. 

Above  the  harbour  we.  visited  three  caves,  ten  feet 
long  and  ten  feet  high,  cut  out  of  the  rock,  and  com- 
municating with  one  another  by  two  doors  at  the  inner 
end.  They  are  carefully  covered  with  cement,  and  from 
the  traces  of  a  watercourse,  which  has  been  conducted 
down  into  them,  we  may  argue  that  they  were  a  pe- 
culiar kind  of  reservoir  in  use  during  the  Roman  epoch. 
Except  for  the  actual  walls  all  the  remains  of  Bryo- 
castro  point  to  the  Roman  period  ;  it  appears  to  have 
been  looked  upon  then  as  a  stong  military  centre,  and 
when  the  Rhodians  and  Attalus  fought  against  Philip  V. 
Kythnos  did  not  surrender,  but  remained  faithful  to 
Philip,  and  even  resisted  the  fleet  which  had  captured 
Andros. 

Another  expedition  which  we  made  at  Thermii  was 
to  the  town  of  the  second  epoch,  the  Prankish  fortress  on 
the  northern  headland  ;  it  is  close  to  a  disused  monastery 
dedicated  to  St.  George,  where  the  Thermiotes  go  for 
their  annual  festival.  They  now  call  the  spot  *  the  fortress 
of  beauty,'  and  a  more  splendid  situation  for  a  fortress  it 
is  impossible  to  find.  It  crowns  a  rock  rising  500  feet  out 
of  the  sea,  and  is  approached  from  the  land  side  by  only 
a  narrow  tongue  of  land.  There  is  still  the  wall  standing, 
which  is  entered  by  a  low  doorway,  and  inside  the  old 
churches  and  houses  are  in  many  cases  in  good  preserva- 
tion ;  but  it  is  a  desolate,  weird  place,  and  full  of  terror 
to  the  inhabitants. 

Here  in  1821  the  people  of  Messarict  took  refuge  from 
the  Turks,  in  spite  of  the  dread  they  have  of  the  fearful 
demons  (<7Tot;j^eia)  which  haunt  it — giants  with  black  faces, 
evil-doing  spirits,  man-eating,  like  the  Homeric  Cyclops, 


KYTHNOS  {THERMlA),  443 


who  guard  hidden  treasures  of  Venetian  florins  which 
have  been  buried  in  the  ruins. 

After  leaving  this  spot  we  came  across  a  shepherd's 
hut — TO,  xiWuiy  as  they  call  them  in  Kythnos.  Each 
proprietor  has  one  on  his  property,  where  he  stores  his 
produce  and  lives  during  the  harvest  time.  The  ow^er 
was  away  just  now,  tending  his  flocks  ;  but  he  had  left 
his  door  so  closed  that  by  pulling  a  string  a  bolt  inside 
was  drawn,  and  we  could  go  in.  Here  in  the  middle 
were  two  bags  full  of  curd  hanging  from  the  ceiling, 
the  whey  was  running  off  into  two  wooden  trenchers, 
and  above  the  bags  were  placed  two  large  bushes  of 
brushwood  to  keep  off  the  rats,  and  in  a  corner  a  caldron 
full  of  whey  was  simmering  over  some  charcoal  ashes  to 
make  mysethra.  We  drank  some  whey  and  wondered 
at  the  owner's  confidence  in  thus  leaving  to  the  public 
the  produce  of  his  flock. 

Beyond  these  simple'  materials  for  [making  cheese 
there  was  no  sign  of  anything  in  the  hut,  no  domestic 
comfort  whatsoever  saving  a  large  amphora  full  of  water, 
with  the  usual  bit  of  sponge  stuck  in  for  a  stopper ;  there 
was  not  even  a  pretence  at  a  bed,  the  shepherd  must  just 
spread  his  skin  cloak  on  the  mud  floor  and  sleep  on  that. 

South  of  Messaria  there  is  another  village,  called 
SUakka,  about  an  hour's  ride  from  the  capital,  and  on 
the  road  we  passed  by  no  less  than  four  ruined  monas- 
teries, the  outer  walls  of  which  were  brown  and  crum- 
bling, whilst  inside  the  whitewashed  church,  still  taken 
care  of  to  a  certain  extent,  peeps  up  and  seems  to 
reproach  the  sacrilege  around  it.  SUakka  is  prettily 
situated  on  either  side  of  a  cleft  watered  by  a  brook  ;  it 
is  far  prettier  than  the  capital :  the  houses  climb  one 
above  another,  and  there  is  a  fair-sized  hill  behind  it, 
which  gives  an  air  of  importance  to  the  place. 


444  THE  CYC  LADES, 


As  we  passed  by  the  caf6  one  of  our  muleteers 
muttered  the  talismanic  word  *  Demarch  ! '  and  forthwith 
this  functionary  stalked  out  of  the  cafe,  cast  a  hurried 
glance  at  us,  and  without  a  word  walked  on  in  front  and 
lead  us  to  his  guest-room  up  a  staircase ;  having  done 
this  he  turned  round  and  formally  bade  us  welcome  Of 
course  this  was  followed  almost  immediately  by  coffee, 
mastic,  cigarettes,  and  questions — for  it  is  a  point  of 
honour  amongst  these  remote  people  to  ask  no  questions 
until  the  stranger  has  partaken  of  some  refreshment — 
quite  after  the  style  of  ancient  days,  when  after  the  feast 
was  over  the  traveller  was  called  upon  to  tell  his  tale. 

Silakka  dates  only  from  the  days  when  pirates 
infested  Thermit,  and  it  owes  its  existence  to  a  large 
cave  which  is  almost  in  the  village,  and  in  which  in 
times  of  distress  the  inhabitants  took  refuge.  It  is  the 
one  sight  of  the  place,  and  thither,  after  a  seasonable 
rest,  we  were  conducted  by  the  demarch  and  his  son  and 
most  of  the  villagers.  Of  late  years  the  cave  has  been 
used  for  a  public  rubbish  heap,  and  through  this  dusthole 
of  ages  we  had  to  creep  past  old  boots,  dogs'  skeletons, 
broken  crockery,  and  the  like.  Aided  by  the  light  of 
many  candles  which  we  and  the  demarches  son  and  five 
officious  little  urchins  carried,  we  got  in  at  last :  it  is  a 
curious  cave,  full  of  glorious  stalactites.  As  we  went 
on  we  came  across  narrow  passages,  thirty  feet  long, 
through  which  we  could  hardly  squeeze  ourselves ; 
but  our  clothes  by  this  time  were  as  those  of  the 
Gibeonites,  and  could  not  receive  any  further  damage 
There  are  various  chambers  in  the  cave,  large  vaulted  ones 
with  firm  floors  ;  in  one  of  these  the  inhabitants  used  to 
dance  on  the  Friday  after  Easter,  but  the  accumulation 
of  mud  and  rubbish  has  obliged  them  to  abandon  this 
pastime.   The  cave  is  still  the  object  of  great  veneration, 


/. . 


KYTHNOS  {THERM I  A),  445 

and  only  for  forty  days  after  Easter  is  it  safe  to  enter  it, 
when  the  Nereids'  power  is  supposed  to  be  dormant. 

I  was  not  sorry  for  this,  as  otherwise  our  retinue 
would  have  been  unpleasantly  large.  The  demarch's  son 
professed  to  believe  in  none  of  these  things,  and  the  five 
urchins  were  full  of  the  spirit  of  adventure  :  they  told  us 
what  fun  they  had  here  during  those  forty  days  after 
Easter ;  how  they  and  all  the  children  of  Silakka  assemble 
in  the  cave  to  play,-  taking  with  them  large  bundles  of 
brushwood  for  kindling  a  fire  ;  and  then  four  or  five  of 
them  get  into  a  hole,  which  they  pointed  out  to  us,  and 
the  others  wall  them  in  and  pretend  they  are  Nereids. 
All  the  stalactites  have  names — not  very  beautiful,  for  the 
most  part — and  the  demarch's  son,  with  a  bashful  air,  tried 
to  gloss  them  over  for  our  benefit ;  but  the  five  urchins 
would  not  hear  his  amendments,  and  always  corrected 
him. 

Though  the  Jew  already  mentioned  bought  up  all  the 
old  costumes  of  Thermii,  the  women  dress  oddly  enough, 
covering  their  faces  so  that  only  their  eyes  appear,  and 
as  they  stand  tending  their  goats  by  the  roadside  they 
look  peculiarly  Turkish  ;  it  is  curious  to  see  the  general 
tendency  in  these  islands  for  the  women  to  cover  their 
faces  ;  in  Amorgos  they  do  it,  too,  only  there  they  do  not 
wear  the  projecting  handkerchief  as  in  Kythnos  ;  but  in 
these  islands  the  Turkish  influence  has  left  no  other 
trace,  for  anything  Turkish  would  have  been  scorned  ; 
this  custom  is  certainly  not  from  an  Italian  source.  I  am 
inclined  to  look  upon  it  as  a  survival  of  antiquity,  when 
the  face  was  covered  with  a  veil.  Homer  represents 
Penelope  as  followed  by  two  of  her  women,  her  face 
covered  with  a  magnificent  veil.  Does  it  not  arise  from 
the  old  idea  that  women  should  not  be  seen  ?  An  Italian 
traveller,  Foscarini,  in  the  middle  .ages  describes  how 


446  THE  CYCLADES. 


Greek  women  never  went  out  of  doors  in  broad  daylight, 
and  were  never  seen  at  public  assemblies.  Michael  Psello, 
the  best  authority  on  Byzantine  customs  in  the  eleventh 
century,  tells  us  how  his  mother  wore  a  veil  to  hide  her  face 
from  the  gaze  of  men,  and  how  the  officials  in  attendance 
on  the  Empresses  Zoe  and  Theodora  never  raised  their 
ty^s  from  the  ground  out  of  respect  to  the  sex  of  their 
rulers.  These  veils  in  Thermii  are  worn  by  the  women 
winter  and  summer  when  out  of  doors,  and,  as  they  say, 
it  is  impossible  to  recognise  even  your  sister  when  she 
is  thus  dressed.  In  Thermii  the  peasants  still,  as  in 
ancient  times,  make  clothes  out  of  the  flaky  asbestos  ; 
specimens  of  these  garments,  as  made  by  the  ancients, 
are  to  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum. 

We  met  with  our  usual  difficulties  in  getting  away 
from  Kythnos,  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  this  island 
possesses  only  two  caTques,  one  bf  which  was  now  absent 
at  Syra.  Over  night  the  demarch  made  an  arrangement 
for  us  with  the  captain  {tcai^C)  of  the  boat,  and  when  the 
morning  came,  and  the  wind  blew  fair  for  carrying  us  to 
Keos,  we  never  for  a  moment  feared  a  delay.  But  at  the 
appointed  hour  the  captain  never  turned  up,  and,  to  our 
dismay,  we  learnt  that  he  was  in  the  cafd  and  refused  to 
go.  Our  host  was  obviously  angry  ;  he  accompanied  me 
to  the  caf^,  and  there  poured  on  the  captain's  head  all 
manner  of  abuse,  calling  him  a  *  burnt  man,'  that  is  to 
say,  a  fool,  *  a  peacock,'  *  no  man  at  all,'  *  horns,'  &c.  But 
the  captain  was  impervious  to  abuse,  and  sat  stolidly 
bubbling  away  at  his  narghilL 

*  It  is  March,'  he  said  at  length,  as  if  that  was 
sufficient  to  convince  us  of  the  perils  we  wished  to  under- 
take—and perhaps  to  a  Greek  this  would  have  been  a 
conclusive  argument,  for  what  Greek  is  there  who  does 
not  dread  to  go  to  sea  in  March  ?   March,  the  fickle  swain 


KYTHNOS  (THERMlA).  447 

who  dwells  with  a  lovely  but  crossgrained  mistress,  and 
is  delighted  at  her  beauty,  but  grieves  at  her  anger ; 
March,  who  has  deceived  his  eleven  brothers  and  got  a 
beating  for  so  doing  ;  March  who  was  so  angry  with  an 
old  woman  for  thinking  he  was  a  summer  month  that 
he  borrowed  a  day  from  his  brother  February  and  froze 
her  and  her  flocks  to  death — all  these  allegories,  and  more 
besides,  a  Greek  will  tell  you  to  illustrate  the  fickleness 
of  this  dread  month.  But,  being  English,  I  professed 
a  contempt  for  March,  and  added  to  the  other  names 
levelled  against  the  captain  by  calling  him  an  old  woman, 
whereupon  he  confided  to  us  that  he  had  seen  a  cat  that 
morning  licking  herself  with  her  face  turned  towards  the 
north — a  sure  sign  that  the  wind  will  soon  blow  from 
that  dangerous  quarter ;  and  furthermore  he  had  seen 
a  hen  flap  her  wings— a  sure  sign  of  a  tempest. 

All  we  could  do  was  to  laugh  at  the  mariner's 
cowardice ;  he  was  determined  not  to  go,  and  to  show 
his  determination  he  ordered  his  narghili  to  be  filled 
again.  *  That  captain  is  a  well-known  coward,'  apologised 
the  demarch,  but  afterwards  we  learnt  that  he  was 
afraid  of  the  wind,  which  was  fair  and  southerly,  pre- 
venting his  return  from  Keos  ;  so  for  once  we  were 
troubled  by  the  wind  being  too  fair  ;  we  had  had  plenty 
of  persistent  head  winds  and  persistent  calms.  This  was, 
at  all  events,  a  new  experience. 

Later  on  in  the  day  we  heard  that  a  strange  cafque 
was  in  the  harbour  discharging  a  cargo  of  lime,  so  we 
transported  ourselves,  bag  and, baggage,  down  to  the 
harbour,  and  soon  entered  into  a  contract  to  start  next 
morning  at  break  of  day  for  Keos.  It  was  a  weary,  un- 
comfortable delay,  but  the  day  and  the  night  passed 
somehow,  the  latter  in  the  bathhouse  ;  and  ere  the  sun 
had  risen  we  had  left  Kythnos  far  behind. 


443  THE  CYCLADES. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

KEOS   (ZEA). 

Of  the  smaller  islands  of  the  Cycladic  group  Keos  has 
played  the  most  important  role :  its  ancient  name  was 
Keos,  its  mediaeval  one  Izia,  and  now  the  inhabitants 
call  it  Kfeos,  or  ZeA,  as  fancy  takes  them.  It  is  blessed 
with  a  fine  harbour,  and  is  the  nearest  of  the  Cyclades  to 
Athens,  consequently  in  ancient  days  it  was  in  constant 
communication  with  the  centre  of  learning.  It  produced 
the  red  earth  (filXros)  from  which  the  Athenians  made 
paint ;  it  had  four  considerable  cities  ;  it  was  the  birth- 
place of  Simonides,  the  poet,  and  Aristotle  wrote  a  book 
on  its  constitution,  which  has  unfortunately  been  lost. 
Here,  too,  all  old  people  who  reached  the  age  of  seventy 
quietly  took  a  dose  of  hemlock,  and  did  away  with  them- 
selves, thereby  relieving  the  State  and  their  relations  of 
any  further  trouble.  So  no  wonder  Keos  won  for  itself 
a  name  in  ancient  times. 

In  later  times  Keos  was  a  well-known  place.  When  the 
Piraeus  was  nothing  but  a  heap  of  ruins  all  the  Turkish 
Government  ships,  and  merchant  ships  which  had  to  do 
with  Greece,  harboured  in  Keos ;  and  when  a  ship  was 
wanted  at  Athens  they  lighted  a  beacon  on  the  spurs 
of  Hymettus,  and  she  came  up  the  Saronic  Gulf;  all 
nations  consequently  had  consuls  there.  Before  steam 
was  invented,  and  Syra  sprang  up,  Keos  was  the  em- 


KEOS  {ZEA).  449 


porium  of  the  Cyclades.  Catherine  of  Russia  recognised 
its  importance  when  she  put  Katzoni  of  Keos  at  the 
head  of  the  Greek  corsairs  who  ravaged  Turkey  at  the 
close  of  last  century,  and  made  Keos  their  trysting  place ; 
but  when  the  Chiote  refugees  would  have  made  their 
home  at  Keos,  the  Keotes  refused  the  offer,  and  the 
commercial  centre  was  transferred  to  Syra — not  that 
the  Keotes  are  much  to  be  pitied  for  this  loss  of  fortune  ; 
they  have  a  very  beautiful  island,  productive  of  far  more' 
than  is  needed  for  home  consumption,  and  they  are  not 
an  ambitious  race.  With  complacency  they  watch  from 
their  town  the  steamers  plying  east  and  west  without  a 
regret  that  they  do  not  stop  at  Keos  ;  they  cultivate 
their  oaks  and  their  fields,  and  retain  far  more  of  the 
old  world  life  than  the  busy  Syriotes,  for  only  a  weekly 
steamer  touches  here  and  a  few  ca'fques  which  traffic  in 
acorns. 

Scarcely  had  we  landed,  and  realised  that  we  were  on 
the  island,  than  we  were  introduced  to  a  pleasant  old  man, 
a  celebrity  in  Keos,  for  he  knows  every  inch  thereof :  he 
rejoices  in  the  name  of  Barba  ^  Manthos. 

Barba  Manthos,  if  he  had  lived  in  ancient  days,  would 
have  taken  the  necessary  dose  of  hemlock  some  years 
before ;  and  I  must  say  I  am  glad  he  was  spared,  for  a 
more  able  or  intelligent  cicerone  could  not  be  found.  And 
when  he  is  numbered  with  his  fathers  there  is  no  one  in 
Keos  to  take  his  place,  no  one  who  knows  one  stone 
from  another.  The  Custom  House  officer  sent  for  us 
before  we  had  been  ten  minutes  on  shore,  and  it  was 
with  some  trepidation  that  we  went  to  his  house,  for  our 
caYque  had  dropped  us  on  Keos  and  set  sail  again  with- 
out the  necessary  papers — and  who  was  to  know  from 

*  Barba  being  a  familiar  term,  applied   to   old  men  in  the  islands, 
borrowed  from  the  Venetian  patois  barba^  an  uncle. 

G  G 


450  THE  CYCLADES. 


what  countiy  we  had  come  ? — howe\'er,  it  was  cmly  to 
beg  us  to  share  with  him  his  midday  meal,  which  was 
highly  acceptable,  seeing  that  we  had  left  Thermia  at 
5  A.M.,  and  had  breakfasted  oflf  water,  bacon,  and  stale 
bread. 

The  port  of  Keos,  Livadhi  by  name,  is  a  busy  little 
place,  and  larger  than  most  island  ports,  for  here  the 
richer  inhabitants  have  houses  where  they  reside  in 
summer  for  sea-bathing ;  and  the  whole  place  was  full  of 
sacks  of  acorns  when  we  arrived,  so  that  we  were  made 
acquainted  at  once  with  the  staple  trade  of  the  island, 
which  boasts  of  a  million  and  a  half  oak  trees  growing 
over  all  but  the  northern  slopes.  The  poorest  Keote 
pr^sesses  a  few  oak  trees,  and  from  August  to  October 
the  oak  harvest  keeps  them  all  employed.  The  acorns 
arc  huge  things,  as  big  as  eggs,  astonishing  to  our  eyes  ; 
but  it  is  the  cup  only  that  they  export,  the  acorns  are, 
as  with  us,  eaten  by  the  pigs.  Many  of  the  oaks  of  Keos 
arc  centuries  old — great,  gnarled  things  that  remind  one 
of  the  pride  of  English  parks — ^but  why  Keos  should  be 
the  only  one  of  the  Cyclades  where  they  grow  and  are 
looked  upon  as  an  industry  I  could  not  discover.  The 
abundance  of  oaks  has  caused  an  absence  of  olives  in 
Keos,  so  the  people  eat  more  meat  than  elsewhere  and 
are  consequently  a  braver,  hardier  race  than  their  neigh- 
bours— at  least  they  say  so  themselves,  and  add,  with 
pride,  that  Keos  was  the  first  island  to  assist  Athens  in 
the  Median  Wars,  and  was  the  first  of  the  Cyclades  to 
send  troops  to  assist  in  the  revolution  in  1821.  I  did 
not  like  to  suggest  that  their  proximity  to  the  mainland 
might  have  something  to  say  to  this. 

Barba  Manthos,  stick  in  hand,  at  once  took  possession 
of  us.  *  You  must  come  with  me  over  the  ruins  of  Koressia 
first,'  he  said,  and  as  Koressia  was  situated  on  a  spur  of 


KEOS  (ZEA).  451 


hills  just  over  the  port  I  deemed  his  advice  seasonable, 
and  we  went^ 

With  the  exception  of  the  roads  in  Syra,  no  ascent  is 
so  good  as  the  one  which  joins  the  town  of  Keos  to  its 
port.  You  proceed  for  about  a  mile  along  the  dry  bed  of 
a  torrent,  the  ancient  Eliskos,  very  pleasant  to  walk  upon 
when  there  has  been  no  rain  for  some  days,  but  after  a 
heavy  downpour  it  is  often  impassable  ;  then  you  com- 
mence the  ascent  along  a  well-paved  road  which  is  built 
on  the  ancient  foundation,  I  was  told,  for  Keos  is  full  of 
traces  of  ancient  roadways.  Barba  Manthos  said  he 
remembered  when  the  ancient  fortifications  along  this 
road  were  visible,  but  forty  years  ago  the  Keotes  became 
.  energetic,  made  themselves  a  new  road,  and  obliterated 
all  traces  of  the  old  one. 

After  winding  up  the  hillside  for  about  half  an  hour 
the  curious  town  of  Keos  burst  on  our  view :  it  is  like  a 
white  and  yellow  plaister  on  the  side  of  the  lofty  moun- 
tain which  encircles  it ;  the  houses  climbing  one  above 
another  like  the  steps  of  a  gigantic  ladder.  On  a  spur 
which  sticks  out  from  the  mountain  in  the  middle  of 
the  town,  and  which  is  connected  with  the  mountain  by 
a  co/  covered  with  cottages^  are  built  some  of  the  finest 
houses  ;  and  here  was  the  ancient  Greek  town  of  loulis 
as  well  as  the  mediaeval  town. 

The  Chora  of  Keos  commands  a  most  enchanting 
view,  being  high  up  and  facing  the  north  ;  to  the  north- 
east is  the  snowy  range  of  Eiiboea,  with  Mounts  Ocha 
and  Delphis,  which  seem  to  belong  to  the  mainland  and 
to  join  with  the  range  of  Parnassos,  which  forms  a  back- 
ground to  the  more  humble  mountains  of  Attica, 
Pentelicus,  and  Hymettus.  To  this  spot  fled  the  high 
priest  of  Athens,  Michael  Akominatos,  when  Athens  fell 

*   Vide  note. 

G  G  2 


452  THE  CYCLADES. 


into  the  hands  of  the  Franks,  for  there  was  a  monastery 
here,  where  the  public  school  now  is,  for  here  he  could  live 
in  peace  and  still  look  upon  his  beloved  Athens  though 
banished  from  it  for  ever. 

Our  letter  of  introduction  here  was  for  the  eparch ;  this 
caused  some  little  jealousy  between  him  and  the  demarch  ; 
consequently  between  the  two  we  nearly  came  to  grief. 
But  we  eventually  found  ourselves  in  possession  of  a  little 
house  belonging  to  the  muleteer  who  had  brought  up  our 
luggage  from  the  harbour ;  and  really  we  preferred  it,  for 
the  man  and  his  wife  were  simple-minded,  pleasant  folk, 
and  we  had  not  constantly  to  be  on  our  best  behaviour 
and  taxing  our  conversational  powers. 

Keos  is  the  queerest  place  imaginable  :  the  flat  roof 
of  the  house  beneath  us  fitted  close  up  to  ours,  and  this 
seemed  to  be  almost  the  universal  custom,  so  that  most 
of  the  houses  are  entered  by  the  roof  of  the  house  in 
front.  Everybody  walks  on  the  roofs  as  being  preferable 
to  the  dirty,  dark  alleys,  arched  over  for  the  most  part, 
which  are  given  up  to  pigs.  That  evening  I  went  for 
quite  a  long  walk  and  never  left  the  roofs,  going  from 
one  to  another  by  little  staircases  or  little  bridges  as  the 
case  might  be  ;  but  next  morning  when  we  found  our 
neighbours  staring  in  at  our  window  we  thought  the 
advantages  were  rather  counteracted  by  publicity. 

Close  to  their  town  the  Keotes  have  one  of  the  most 
charming  promenades  in  the  world — a  broadish  level  walk 
skirting  the  hillside  and  leading  to  the  celebrated  lion. 
The  outline  of  the  white  and  yellow  town  against  the 
blue  sea  and  distant  mountains  is  perfectly  enchanting, 
and  there  are  a  few  trees  which  relieve  the  monotony  so 
common  among  the  Cyclades  Windmills  are  dotted 
along  the  heights  ;  above  and  beneath  your  feet  is  a  rich 
gorge,  bright  with  the  tender  green  of  almond  trees. 


KEOS  {ZEA).  453 


The  lion  of  Keos  is  the  most  interesting  sight  on  the 
island.  It  reposes  on  the  hillside,  propped  up  by  stones 
to  prevent  its  further  slipping.  It  is  made  of  grey 
granite,  and  from  nose  to  tail  is  nine  yards  and  a  half 
long.  It  is  in  an  attitude  of  repose,  and  though  much 
worn  by  age  the  features  are  all  distinct  -  eyes,  mouth, 
and  mane.  Owing  to  recent  excavations  we  now  know 
that  it  has  slipped  from  its  original  position  at  one  end 
of  a  stadium — a  plateau  supported  by  an  old  Hellenic 
wall  one  hundred  and  twelve  paces  long  by  fourteen 
wide,  some  of  the  rows  of  seats  in  which  are  still  visible. 
It  is  impossible  to  fix  a  date  or  assign  a  cause  for  the 
construction  of  the  Keote  lion  ;  one  thing  is  certain,  that 
it  is  of  very  archaic  work,  more  so  than  the  lions  at  the  f 
^^ate_of_  Mycene ;  and  there  was  an  old  legend  which 
stated  that  Keos  was  once  inhabited  by  nymphs,  who 
fled  from  thence  to  Karystos,  fearing  a  great  lion  which 
lived  there.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  existence  of 
this  granite  lion  gave  rise  to  this  myth,  and  that  it  is 
distinctly  belonging  to  a  prehistoric  and  mythical  age — 
perhaps  adorning  one  end  of  a  Pelasgic  stadium.  As  it 
reposes  now  under  the  shadow  of  two  olive  trees,  looking 
down  over  one  of  the  most  magnificent  views  of  Greece, 
the  lion  of  Keos  is  an  impressive  object. 

Our  home  at  Keos,  though  humble,  was  pleasant. 
Barba  Manthos  was  our  constant  companion,  and  in 
course  of  conversation  he  let  us  into  more  secrets  con- 
nected with  the  inner  life  of  the  Keotes  than  ever  we 
should  have  got  from  eparch  or  demarch. 

Curiously  enough,  in  spite  of  the  size  of  the  town  and 
the  communication  with  Athens,  Keos  has  retained  more 
ancient  customs  than  most  of  the  islands,  and  it  is  to  be 
accounted  for  in  this  way.  The  island  is  large,  and  there 
is  only  one  recognised  town  in  it  where  there  is  a  school. 


454  THE  CYCLADES. 


Consequently  the  distant  parts  of  the  island  are  dotted 
over  with  tiny  cottages  called  stables  {otovKol) — where 
many  families  live  entirely — consequently  the  children 
remain  uneducated,  and  the  parents  teach  them  their 
superstitions.  Some  of  these  *  stables '  are  congregated 
together  and.  form  hamlets  nearly  large  enough  to  be 
provided  with  a  Government  school,  when  matters  will  be 
changed  ;  but,  as  it  is,  the  inhabitants  of  these  outlying 
hamlets  learn  nothing,  and,  perhaps,  only  visit  the  town 
once  or  twice  a  year — generally  if  they  can  on  September 
II,  the  day  of  the  raising  of  the  cross — and  then  they 
bring  with  them  a  bundle  tied  up  in  a  white  handkerchief. 
This  they  hang  on  the  tripod,  on  which  the  tray  for  hold- 
ing the  cross  is  put,  and  they  do  not  take  it  off  again  until 
the  cross  is  raised.  This  handkerchief  contains  com, 
barley,  beans,  two  roses,  figs,  garlic,  cotton,  cocoons,  flax, 
and  a  little  bees'  wax.  When  the  time  for  sowing  seed 
has  come  they  yoke  their  oxen,  and  rub  a  bit  of  the 
garlic  on  their  foreheads,  and,  as  they  do  so,  say,  *  May 
you,  my  oxen,  and  may  you,  my  family,  be  strong ! 
May  the  fruits  of  the  earth  be  blessed  ! '  After  this  they 
throw  all  that  the  handkerchief  contained  into  the  earth, 
being  careful  to  observe  a  strict  fast  on  this  day. 

On  September  i  the  owner  of  one  of  these  *  stables  * 
(rightly,  indeed,  so  called,  for  they  are  more  fitted  for 
beast  than  man)  has  a  duty  to  perform :  as  soon  as  he 
wakes  in  the  morning  he  must  go  out  of  his  house  and 
fetch  a  stone.  This  he  throws  into  the  house,  saying,  at 
the  same  time,  *  May  my  family  be  healthful,  and  may 
money,  like  this  stone,  be  thrown  into  my  house.' 

A  Keote  farmer  has  a  curious  way  of  preserving  his 
grain — on  our  expeditions  we  frequently  saw  empty 
round  holes  in  the  ground.  *  These  are  called  lakkoi^ 
said  Barba  Manthos,  *  in  which  our  farmers,  who  have 


KEOS  {ZEA).  455 


no  granaries,  store  their  grain.  The  holes  are  dug  near 
a  threshing  floor,  and  when  the  grain  is  ready  they  put 
it  in,  having  first  been  careful  to  cover  the  inside  with 
straw.  When  sufficient  grain  has  been  piled  up  to  form 
a  sort  of  cone-shaped  mound  they  cover  the  whole  with 
straw,  and  put  on  the  top  of  this  some  of  the  stiff  native 
brushwood,  and  then  they  cover  their  mound  with  earth. 
Rain  never  penetrates  these  storehouses,  and  if  it  does 
it  is  sucked  up  by  the  brushwood  and  the  straw  before 
reaching  the  grain.  This  is,  of  course,  a  very  ancient 
method  of  storing  grain.  It  is  used  in  none  of  the 
Cyclades  except  Keos  now,  where,  by  the  side  of  every 
threshing  floor,  we  saw  two  or  three  lakkoiy  which  the 
ancient  husbandmen  of  Greece  called  aLpoi. 

Another  curious  custom  still  in  vogue  amongst  the 
husbandmen  of  Keos  carries  us  back  to  remote  an- 
tiquity. St  Anarguris,  whose  little  white  church  is  at 
the  distant  hamlet  known  as  *sto  /MaKpivby  is  the  patron 
saint  of  flocks  and  herds  in  Keos — the  Pan,  in  fact,  of 
modern  days.  In  Thermii,  just  over  the  cavern  of  Silakka, 
is  built  a  church  in  honour  of  the  same  saint,  recalling 
forcibly  the  god  of  grottoes  of  ancient  days.  But  this 
example  of  Pan  worship  at  Keos  is  still  more  marked  : 
whenever  an  ox  is  ailing  they  take  it  to  this  church  and 
pray  for  its  recovery.  If  the  cock  crows  when  they  start, 
or  they  hear  the  voice  of  a  man,  or  the  grunt  of  a  pig 
there  is  every  hope  that  the  animal  will  be  cured  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  if  they  hear  a  cat,  a  dog,  or  a  woman  it 
is  looked  upon  as  an  evil  omen.  When  at  the  Church  of 
St.  Anarguris  they  solemnly  register  a  vow  that  if  the  ox 
recovers  they  will  present  it  to  the  saint  when  its  days 
of  work  are  over  ;  accordingly  every  year  on  July  i, 
the  day  on  which  they  celebrate  the  feast  of  this  saint, 
numbers  of  aged  oxen  may  be  seen  on  the  road  to  this 


456  THE  CYCLADES. 


church,  where  they  are  slaughtered  on  the  threshold,  and 
the  flesh  distributed  amongst  the  poor. 

Barba  Manthos  was  with  us  betimes  on  the  following 
morning,  for  we  were  to  make  a  long  expedition  that 
day  to  the  ruins  of  the  old  town  of  Karthaia,  at  the 
southern  end  of  the  island,  quite  three  hours*  mule  ride 
from  our  house.  The  sun  had  not  risen  yet,  and  a  thin  mist 
hung  over  everything  when  we  started  ;  an  atmospheric 
condition  which  the  Keotes  express,  as  Homer  did,  by 
the  words  Kvdvdei,  kvOos — *  a  mist,'  said  our  guide,  *  which 
comes  in  early  spring  and  is  very  beneficial  to  the 
development  of  our  oak  trees/ 

When  this  cleared  away  we  had  a  glorious  day,  and 
we  simply  revelled  in  the  lovely  scenery  of  Keos  after 
bare,  ugly  Thermit.  The  road  winds  along  very  high 
ground  ;  on  either  side  are  deep,  dark  valleys  leading 
down  towards  the  sea,  with  fantastic  rocks  and  full  of 
oak  trees ;  in  the  dim  morning  these  great  oaks,  with  their 
huge  stems  and  stretching  arms,  looked  weird  enough. 
No  wonder  the  superstitious  Keotes  people  them  and 
their  cliffs  with  Nereids  ;  somehow  in  Keos  these  mystic 
beings  seem  to  be  brought  into  closer  union  with 
humanity  than  elsewhere.  '  They  often,'  says  the  house- 
wife, *  steal  her  clothes,  her  sheets,  and  bed  linen,  but  they 
nearly  always  return  them.*  Very  often  the  Nereids  have 
children  by  human  men,  for  the  most  part  malicious, 
evil-disposed  children.  *  Charon  must  have  been  your 
sponsor  and  a  Nereid  your  dam,*  is  a  frequent  expres- 
sion of  abuse  to  naughty  children.  For  those  who  are 
supposed  to  have  been  struck  by  the  Nereids  when 
sleeping  under  a  tree  the  following  cure  is  much  in 
vogue.  A  white  cloth  is  spread  on  the  spot,  and  on  it 
is  put  a  plate  with  bread,  honey,  and  other  sweets,  a 
bottle  of  good  wine,  a  knife,  a  fork,  an  empty  glass,  an 


KEOS  (ZEA).  457 


unburnt  candle,  and  a  censer.  These  things  must  be 
brought  by  an  old  woman,  who  utters  mystic  words  and 
then  goes  away,  that  the  Nereids  may  eat,  undisturbed, 
and  that  in  their  good  humour  they  may  allow  the 
sufferer  to  regain  his  health. 

More  interesting  even  than  this  relic  of  the  offerings 
the  Athenians  once  made  to  the  Eumenides  on  the  "y^^t^iiA 
slopes  of  Areopagus  is  another  custom  the  Keotes  have 
of  treating  children  who  are  supposed  to  have  been 
struck  by  these  Nereids.  In  Keos  St.  Artemidos  is  the 
patron  of  these  weaklings,  and  the  church  dedicated  to 
him  is  some  little  way  from  the  town  on  the  hillslopes  ; 
thither  a  mother  will  take  a  child  afflicted  by  any 
mysterious  wasting,  *  struck  by  the  Nereids,'  as  they  say. 
She  then  strips  off  its  clothes  and  puts  on  new  ones, 
blessed  by  the  priest,  leaving  the  old  ones  as  a  perquisite 
to  the  Church ;  and  then  if  perchance  the  child  grows 
strong  she  will  thank  St.  Artemidos  for  the  blessing  he 
has  vouchsafed,  unconscious  that  by  so  doing  she  is 
perpetuating  the  archaic  worship  of  Artemis,  to  whom  in 
classical  times  were  attached  the  epithets  TratSoV/^oi^oy, 
/covp6Tpo(f>o9y  (jyiKofjislpa^  ;  and  now  the  Ionian  idea  of 
the  fructifying  and  nourishing  properties  of  the  Ephesian 
Artemis  has  been  transferred  to  her  Christian  name- 
sake. We  found  traces  of  the  worship  of  Artemis  having 
existed  in  Keos  along  with  that  of  Apollo  in  ancient 
times,  for  Barba  Manthos  had  a  little  image*  of  the 
Ephesian  Artemis  in  his  collection,  which  he  had  found 
in  a  temple  at  Karthaia. 

There  is  yet  another  remedy  for  a  sickly  boy,  peculiar 
as  far  as  I  know,  to  Keos,  but  probably  a  branch  of  the 
same  system  to  which  I  have  alluded  at  Melos  and  else- 
where. The  parents  carry  the  child  out  into  the  country 
and  the  father  selects  a  young  oak ;  this  they  split  up 


458  THE  CVC LADES. 


from  the  root,  then  the  father  is  assisted  by  another  man 
in  holding  the  tree  open  whilst  the  mother  passes  the 
child  three  times  through,  and  then  they  bind  up  the 
tree  well,  cover  it  all  over  with  manure,  and  carefully 
water  it  for  forty  days.  In  the  same  fashion  they  bind 
up  the  child  for  a  like  period,  and  after  the  lapse  of 
this  time  they  expect  that  it  will  be  quite  well. 

We  reached  Karthaia  before  midday.  *  The  city,'  as  it 
is  vaguely  called  by  the  Keotes,  in  point  of  choice  of  site 
is  without  a  rival ;  the  spot  is  sheltered  from  every  breeze 
except  the  south  by  a  lofty  semicircle  of  mountains,  and 
all  around  the  vegetation  is  most  luxuriant — magnificent 
oak  trees  and  yellow  spurge  in  flower,  almost  shrubs  in 
the  luxuriance  of  their  growth.  As  you  descend  the  hill 
you  traverse  the  old  road,  which  led  from  loulis  to 
Karthaia,  which  was  protected  at  frequent  intervals  by 
towers. 

We  spent  several  hours  at  Karthaia  ;  the  results  of  my 
observations  I  append  in  the  note.  Few  Hellenic  cities 
can  be  more  clearly  mapped  out  than  Karthaia,  and  the 
excavation  which  Bronsted  carried  out  with  so  much 
good  result  at  the  beginning  of  this  century  could  be 
conducted  easily  and  with  every  hope  of  success  if  an 
opportunity  were  to  be  given  by  the  Government,  for  the 
whole  site  of  the  town  remains  uncultivated,  and  is  only 
used  as  a  pasturage  for  flocks  by  a  shepherd,  who  has  a 
little  *  stable  *  down  in  the  valley,  and  who  refreshed  us 
with  some  excellent  wine.  This  shepherd  rents  the  whole 
of  the  land  on  which  the  city  stood,  and  more  besides, 
for  the  annual  sum  of  two  pounds.  Sic  transit  glona 
mundi  ! 

It  was  a  gloriously  warm  day  ;  not  a  breath  of  wind 
disturbed  us  as  we  lunched  on  the  shore.  It  was  the 
middle  of  March  according  to  our  style,  and  the  oak 


KEOS  (ZEA).  459 


trees  here  were  in  full  leaf.  Certainly  the  Greeks  of  old 
were  exceedingly  happy  in  the  choice  of  the  sites  for  their 
towns.  The  wine  of  Keos  is  still  of  great  repute,  even 
the  shepherd  in  his  *  stable  '  had  an  excellent  draught  to 
give  us  out  of  his  gourd.  In  the  middle  ages  Keote  wine 
was  much  sought  after  at  Constantinople,  and  the  follow- 
ing advice  given  by  that  quaint  describer  of  Byzantine 
customs,  Michael  Psello,  shows  the  value  in  which  it  was 
held.  *  Chiote  wine  is  beneficial  to  the  eyes  ;  Pramneion 
to  the  cheek-bones,  and  the  bouquet  thereof  to  the 
channels  of  the  eyebrows  ;  Keote  wine,  on  the  other 
hand,  my  father,  is  beneficial  to  the  lips  and  mouth, 
sweet  to  the  scent,  and  black  in  colour.' 

On  our  return  journey  we  passed  by  the  hamlet  of 
Hellenika,  which  is  certainly  growing  in  size,  and  ought 
soon  to  be  recognised  as  a  centre  for  education  and 
modem  life.  Here  are  extensive  ruins  of  an  ancient 
Greek  village  ;  walls  and  the  foundations  of  houses  are 
still  to  be  seen,  for  besides  the  four  chief  towns  on  Keos 
there  are  traces  all  over  the  island  of  village  life  and  the 
foundations  of  numerous  watchtowers — everything,  in 
short,  proves  the  once  populous  state  of  the  island,  which 
must  in  ancient  days  have  had  far  more  inhabitants  than 
any  other  island  in  the  .^gean  Sea,  except  Paros»  in 
comparison  to  its  size. 

On  the  following  day  we  were  to  go  to  Poiessa,  the 
fourth  of  the  towns  of  Keos,  and  to  take  on  our  way 
the  convent  of  Hagia  Marina,  which  contains  one  of  the 
most  perfect  Hellenic  watchtowers  in  existence.  It  has 
taken  a  rich  yellow  colour  with  age,  and,  on  account 
of  its  being  useful  to  the  monks,  it  has  been  preserved 
from  destruction,  and  is  still  in  a  very  fair  state  of  pre- 
servation. When  the  convent  was  at  its  best  they  used 
the  tower  for  cells,  and  in  times  of  trouble  and  piratage  it 


460  THE  CYC  LADES, 


stood  them  in  good  stead  as  a  means  of  defence  ;  but 
now  it  is  rapidly  falling  into  disrepair.  When  king  Otho 
and  his  queen  visited  it,  accompanied  by  Ross,  the  stair- 
case inside  was  almost  intact,  so  that  the  royal  pair 
could  ascend  it  and  write  their  names  at  the  top ;  now 
you  can  only  get  half-way  up,  and  the  old  man  who 
lives  in  charge  of  the  ruins  and  church  told  us  how  the 
king  had  had  a  stone  taken  down,  with  carving  on  it, 
which  had  loosened  the  walls,  and  that  soon  after  part 
of  the  tower  had  given  way  ;  so  the  accusation  of  rob- 
bery and  destruction  should  not  entirely  be  laid  on 
English  shoulders.  Even  now  they  are  contemplating 
pulling  down  one  of  the  projecting  stones  of  a  balcony, 
as  the  old  man's  granddaughters  fear  it  may  fall  on  their 
stove  and  do  some  considerable  damage. 

The  tower  is  square,  being  eleven  yards  and  a  half  on 
either  side,  it  is  four-storeyed,  and  has  evidently  been 
crowned  with  battlements,  and  surrounded  on  its  four 
sides  by  projecting  blocks  of  stones,  which  carried  an 
open  gallery,  the  irepCZpofios  of  ancient  fortification.  As 
in  the  tower  of  Andros,^  the  stones  at  the  base  are  huge^ 
but  as  the  tower  grows  higher  they  become  smaller. 
There  has  been  a  well  of  water  inside  the  tower,  and  an 
underground  passage  leading  from  this  well  to  another 
outside,  perhaps  used  for  the  double  purpose  of  a  channel 
for  water  and  a  secret  egress  in  case  of  need  ;  all  along 
this  passage  are  niches  for  putting  jars  in,  but  unfortu- 
nately it  is  now  too  full  of  stones  to  go  the  whole  length. 
Along  the  road  to  Poiessa  we  passed  by  the  ruins  of  two 
other  towers,  but  none  so  perfect  as  this  ;  and  this  one  of 
Hagia  Marina  is  as  nothing  compared  to  those  of  Andros 
and  Amorgos  in  the  preservation  of  its  detail. 

The   people  at  the  convent,  the  old  man  and  his 

*   Vide  p.  301. 


KEOS  {ZEA).  461 


granddaughters,  who  till  the  ground  around  and  look 
after  the  church,  were  most  hospitably  inclined,  and 
provided  us  with  an  excellent  mysethra,  hot  and  fresh, 
for  our  midday  meal,  and  we  had  the  further  charm  of 
watching  it  made.  They  poured  fresh  goats'  milk  into 
boiling  whey  and  then  squeezed  it  and  compressed  it  into 
a  wicker  basket  until  it  was  compact  and  beautifully 
white,  and  then  the  honey  of  Hagia  Marina  was  most 
excellent,  so  much  so  that  it  caused  almost  a  quarrel 
between  our  servant,  a  native  of  Anaphi,  and  the 
Keotes,  which  made  us,  with  our  peculiar  notions  of 
rudeness,  feel  most  awkward.  There  is  simply  nothing 
that  is  not  made  the  subject  for  interinsular  jealousy — 
wine,  cheese,  honey,  hospitality,  ruins,  and  ghost  stories  ; 
all  these  things  afforded  subjects  for  animated  discussion 
wherever  we  went. 

As  the  wine  flowed  freely  the  old  man  became 
exceedingly  talkative,  and  Barba  Manthos  for  our  benefit 
drew  him  out  to  tell  us  the  adventures  of  his  long  life, 
some  of  which  were  calculated  to  make  the  females 
present  awkward  if  it  ever  entered  into  their  minds  to 
feel  shy. 

*  And  then  I  became  a  monk,'  said  the  old  man  at 
the  conclusion  of  his  narratives,  *  that  is  to  say,  I  light 
the  lamps  of  the  church,  sweep  it  out  when  it  is  dirty, 
and  live  in  a  cell.' 

*  Are  not  you  afraid  of  living  here  all  alone  in  this 
remote  corner  of  the  world  ?  '  I  asked. 

*  Nothing  would  harm  an  old  man  like  me,'  was  his 
reply  ;  but  Barba  Manthos  privately  told  me  that  nobody 
in  the  whole  island  had  seen  such  wonderful  hobgoblins 
as  he,  for  he  it  was  that  had  made  them  open  old  Manetas' 
grave  two  years  after  his  death  by  saying  that  he  had 
met  him  in  the  road,  and,  sure  enough,  they  found  no 


462  THE  CYCLADESi 


body  in  the  tomb,  so  they  got  the  priest  in  hot  haste, 
who  poured  oil  into  it  and  set  fire  to  the  oil.  At  this 
ceremony  the  old  man  declared  he  saw  a  blue  flame  go 
straight  up  to  heaven,  and  that  he  had  never  seen  old 
Manetas  since. 

*  I  heard  strange  music  in  my  stable  the  other  day,' 
said  the  old  man  musingly,  *  and,  sure  enough,  next  day 
my  little  granddaughter  fell  ill ;  I  knew  it  was  the  Nereids 
who  did  it.  Not  long  after,  whilst  digging  in  my  field,  I 
found  a  stick  like  a  cross ;  this  I  put  upon  her  bed  at 
night,  and,  sure  enough,  next  day  she  was  well.'  He 
then  told  us  his  firm  belief  in  the  evil  eye  (^aaxaveia) 
affecting  cattle  and  trees ;  for  had  not  three  of  his 
healthiest  goats  sickened  and  died  last  year  just  because 
a  man  with  the  evil  eye  had  admired  them  ?  *  The  best 
thing  possible  for  the  evil  eye,'  he  said  in  conclusion,  *  is 
to  throw  salt  into  the  fire,  and  let  an  old  woman  say 
some  magic  words,  whilst  all  gape  over  the  fire  with 
open  mouths  ;  and  then  the  priest  can  do  a  good  deal 
by  reading  the  proper  liturgy  for  the  evil  eye,  only  they 
have  in  their  ignorance  and  folly  abandoned  this  good 
practice  of  late  years.' 

Our  old  friend  tottered  about  with  us  on  his  stick, 
jabbering  the  whilC;  only  too  glad  to  get  some  one  to 
listen  to  his  stories.  He  is  a  type  of  the  Greek  of  the  old 
regime y  a  character  that  will  not  be  found  in  another 
generation  in  all  the  realm  of  Hellas. 

The  valley  which  leads  down  to  the  little  plain  of 
Poiessa  is  exceedingly  lovely  :  it  is  all  dotted  with  the 
hovels  of  the  landowners,  and  most  of  them  have 
large  white  crosses  in  whitewash  over  the  doorways  to 
save  them,  they  say,  from  robbers,  who  haunt  these 
remote  places  during  the  sponge-fishing  season  ;  but  in 
spite  of  the  crosses  not  unfrequently  their  gardens  and 


KEOS  (ZEA),  463 


their  stores  are  rifled.  Each  cottage  was  redolent  with 
large  bunches  of  pink  stocks  and  other  flowers  for  the 
benefit  of  the  Keote  bees ;  and  as  we  passed  by  the 
kindly  inhabitants  ran  forward  with  bouquets  of  them 
to  give  us.  The  fantastic  rocks  and  deep  ravines  of 
this  valley,  called  KpaSp^,  made  us  imagine  we  were  in 
the  Alps.  )(a.oa.6\oa^ 

After  our  two  long  rides  over  Keos  a  day  of  rest  in 
the  town  was  enjoyable,  but  Barba  Manthos  had  no  in- 
tention of  allowing  us  to  be  idle ;  he  insisted  on  taking  us 
up  to  his  little  house  right  at  the  top  of  the  town,  to  show 
us  the  collection  of  curiosities  he  had  amassed  during 
his  archaeological  wanderings.  A  wonderful  medley  it 
was — curious  old  plummet  lines  for  fishing,  instruments 
for  polishing  and  grinding,  those  little  bowls,  one  inside 
another,  which  they  used  to  put  in  tombs  with  cotton  in 
them,  old  weights  and  measures,  a  terra  cotta  Artemis, 
many  lovely  specimens  of  the  so-called  Tanagra  figures, 
lots  of  lamps,  and  lovely  scraps  of  pottery — quite  an 
Hellenic  museum,  chiefly  collected  from  the  ruins  of  Kar- 
thaia,  which  speak  for  the  former  opulence  of  the  town. 
And  when  we  had  seen  all  this  he  took  us  for  an  ex- 
haustive walk  over  the  ruins  of  loulis. 

Next  day  we  left  our  quarters  with  regret,  for  the 
peasantry  of  the  island  afford  a  more  than  usually 
instructive  study  of  the  past ;  they  are  thrifty  and  homely : 
the  women  make  every  scrap  of  household  linen  them- 
selves, and  before  a  girl  marries  she  likes  to  have  made 
on  her  loom  all  the  necessary  sheets  and  towels  for  her 
household.  From  the  hair  of  the  goats  they  make 
excellent  cloaks  for  the  men,  which  keep  off*  the  rain 
better  than  any  waterproof,  and  from  the  cotton  grown 
in  their  fields  the  women  manufacture  articles  of  clothing, 
rugs,  &c.;  and  some  Cretan  refugees  who  came  to  Keos 


464  THE  CYC  LADES, 


in  1866  taught  them  how  to  dye  their  handiwork  and 
make  lovely  rugs  in  stripes  of  red,  yellow,  and  green. 

As  we  rode  along  in  the  direction  of  the  ancient  miltos 
mines  Barba  Manthos  told  us  how  in  his  day  the  sea 
had  made  many  encroachments  on  the  northern  coast, 
and  how  the  land  was  constantly  slipping  in  this  part. 
Curiously  enough  Pliny  tells  us  that  a  great  piece  of  the 
island  once  fell  into  the  sea,  swallowing  up  men,  villages, 
and  all,  and  Barba  Manthos  pointed  out  as  we  went 
along  a  spot  where  thirty  years  ago  a  field  with  some 
oak  trees  had  slipped  down  to  a  much  lower  level.  It  is 
the  same  story  over  again ;  motions  of  the  crust,  upheavals, 
and  subsidences  are  common  in  every  island,  and  in 
former  days  they  must  have  been  more  frequent  and 
more  tremendous  than  now,  for  the  evidences  of  earth- 
quakes, which  now  are  seldom  felt  in  the  Cyclades,  are 
numerous,  whilst  at  Chios,  and  in  the  Sporades  generally, 
earthquakes  are  of  annual  occurrence  ;  and  mythology, 
with  wonderful  tales  of  the  appearance  of  islands  and  the 
disappearance  of  towns  according  to  the  caprice  of  the 
gods,  corroborates  the  evidence  of  nature. 

The  miltos  mines  are  deep  holes  chiselled  in  the  side 
of  a  mountain,  about  an  hour's  ride  from  the  town,  to  the 
north  of  the  island,  and  are  known  as  the  *  caveholes '  by 
the  inhabitants.  The  chiselled  rock  has  a  very  bright, 
rich  colour  and  is  strongly  impregnated  with  iron  ;  the 
marks  of  the  ancient  tools  are  still  plain,  and  numerous 
lamps  have  been  found  inside.  It  appears  that  the 
Athenians  produced  their  much-prized  dye  by  subjecting 
the  stones  to  heat.  About  half  an  hour's  ride  below  the 
mines  is  the  harbour  of  Otzia,  where  there  are  traces  of 
an  ancient  mole  and  of  ancient  buildings.  Doubtless  the 
miltos  was  shipped  from  here,  and  probably  many  a  boat 
in  ancient  days  here  painted  its  bows  and  became,  as 


KEOS  {ZEA).  465 


Homer  expresses  it,  *  a  red-cheeked  ship  (jiCKToirdprios 
vavsj. 

Our  last  ride  in  Keos  was  a  deliciously  warm  and 
pleasant  one  down  the  bed  of  a  torrent  full  of  tall,  waving 
oleanders  and  carpeted  with  many-coloured  anemones. 
We  passed  by  the  harbour  of  Otzia  and  soon  reached 
the  primitive  harbour,  where  we  met  the  steamer  and  bid 
farewell  to  Barba  Manthos,  whose  intelligent  guidance 
for  five  days  had  contributed  so  much  to  the  pleasure  of 
our  stay  in  Keos. 

NOTE. 
On  the  Four  Ancient  Cities  of  Keos, 

I.  Of  the  four  cities  of  Keos  the  remains  of  Koressia^  on  the 
spur  over  the  port,  offer  the  least  attractions,  for  Koressia  seems  to 
have  been  abandoned  and  incorporated  with  loulis  even  before 
Strabo's  time.  There  can  still  be  seen  the  old  wall,  which  stretches 
along  to  the  end  of  the  promontory,  on  which  once  stood  what  was 
once  a  temple  of  iEolus,  as  we  learn  from  an  inscription,  but  which 
is  now  a  church  dedicated  to  St.  Saviour.  In  this  wall  are  the 
remains  of  ancient  bastions,  and  higher  up  was  the  foundation  of 
another  temple,  which  Barba  Manthos  was  quite  sure  was  that  of 
Smintheus  Apollo,  for  we  read  of  the  existence  of  such  a  temple  at 
Koressia ;  but  there  is  no  definite  proof  of  its  identity.  On  the 
foundation  of  this  temple  has  been  raised  a  church,  of  the  Venetian 
epoch,  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Trinity.  Inside  the  city  walls  were 
three  square  towers,  the  use  of  which  seems  doubtful.  All  the 
ground  is  littered  with  choice  bits  of  pottery,  evidencing  a  consider- 
able advance  in  the  arts. 

2.  loulisy  on  the  ruins  of  which  the  modern  town  is  built, 
contains  considerable  remains  of  antiquity.  Round  the  spur  of 
the  hill  which  rises  up  at  the  south  end  of  the  town,  are  massive 
Hellenic  walls ;  this  is  now  called  the  /carw  /xepor,  or  lower  place. 
The  agora  of  this  town  must  have  been  a  lovely  spot ;  it  is 
supported  by  a  wall  built  right  over  the  valley,  with  an  extensive 
view  over  sea  and  mountain.  There  are  some  drums  of  pillars 
still  left  here  and  holes  in  the  natural  rock  where  the  decreed 
tablets  in  honour  of  distinguished  men  (\f^j;(^kr/iara)  of  Keos  were 

H  H 


466  THE  CYCLADES. 


inserted ;  this  acrora  fonns  a  striking  contrast  to  the  dingy  space  in 
the  middle  of  the  modem  town  which  rejoices  in  the  same  high- 
sounding  name.  Qose  to  this  is  a  spot  where  once  stood  an  altar 
to  Apollo ;  the  basin  for  the  blood  of  the  victims  now  forms  part  of 
the  wall  of  a  cattle  stall,  together  with  the  bases  on  which  stood 
statues.  A  great. number  df  reservoirs  and  cisterns  point  to  the 
size  and  importance  of  the  place.  The  demarch  has  built  himself 
a  house  on  the  site  of  an  old  temple  of  Athene,  as  can  be  gathered 
from  an  inscription  turned  upside  down  on  his  doorstep.  When 
digging  for  the  foundations  of  this  house  they  found  many  vases, 
such  as  the  ancient  worshippers  used  to  offer  flowers  in  to  their 
goddess  ;  but,  thinking  them  useless,  the  workmen  broke  them  all, 
and  the  demarch  and  his  family  now  live  on  the  top  of  these  and, 
no  doubt,  many  other  treasures.  As  you  enter  the  town  on  the 
western  side  is  a  well  at  which  tablets  in  honour  of  Livoa,  the 
wife  of  the  Emperor  Octavian,  and  another  in  honour  of  Sabina, 
the  wife  of  the  Emperor  Hadrian,  are  erected.  In  Roman  days 
Keos  seems  to  have  been  of  considerable  importance ;  it  was  not 
used  as  a  place  of  banishment — it  was  too  pleasant  for  that — but 
probably  as  a  meeting  place  for  ships  and  traffic  eastwards.  Virgil 
thus  speaks  of  it : — 

Et  cultos  nemomm  cui  pinguia  Kex 
Ter  centum  nivei  tondent  dementa  Jnvenci. 

To  the  east  are  the  stadia.  I  have  already  alluded  to  the  one 
on  which  the  lion  stood,  a  plateau  held  up  by  a  wall,  facing  south 
and  sheltered ;  this  must  have  been  the  winter  stadium.  Just 
across  the  valley  is  a  similar  plateau  facing  north ;  it  is  very 
probable  that  this  would  be  used  as  a  summer  stadium. 

3.  Karthaia  must  have  been  quite  the  pleasantest  city  of  Keos ; 
and  it  is  curious,  too,  from  its  geographical  position  :  a  long  spur 
runs  down  a  valley  surrounded  on  the  north,  east,  and  west  by 
lofty  mountains  to  the  sea,  dividing  it  into  two  almost  equal 
portions ;  the  one  on  the  east  was  devoted  to  the  cemetery,  both 
Greek  and  Roman,  many  of  the  graves  of  which  had  been  de- 
stroyed by  the  encroaching  sea.  In  the  western  part  were  some 
of  the  chief  public  buildings.  The  town  and  the  acropolis  are  on 
the  spur. 

Karthaia  was  the  scene  of  a  diligent  excavation  in  181 1,  carried 
on  by  the  Danish  archaeologist  Bronsted.  He  stayed  here  seven 
weeks,  and  by  the  discovery  of  inscriptions  identified  the  place  as 


KEOS  {ZEA\  467 


Karthaia,  for  hitherto  loulis  had  been  supposed  to  be  Karthaia,  and 
vice  versd.  At  the  end  of  the  spur  leading  into  the  sea  Bronsted 
identified  by  an  inscription  the  celebrated  temple  of  Apollo  of 
Karthaia,  and  in  a  niche  of  the  rock  overlooking  the  sea  was 
found  a  portion  of  the  statue  of  that  god,  which  he  removed.  Just 
above  this  temple  must  have  been  the  platform  where  Simonides 
gave  his  music  lessons,  whence  the  ass,  Epeios  by  name,  brought 
up  water  from  the  well  and  suggested  to  the  tutor  the  punishment 
that  each  pupil  who  was  late  should  give  a  measure  of  oats  to 
Epeios  (Athena,us,  *  Deiphosoph.'),  thereby  explaining  that  epigram 
of  his,  *  Think  well,  that  whoever  of  you  does  not  wish  to  dispute  the 
prize  of  the  grasshopper  must  give  a  great  dinner  to  the  Panopeiade 
Epeios.' 

Besides  this  temple  Bronsted  made  many  other  valuable  dis- 
coveries— fragments  of  a  statue  resembling  the  Apollo  Musagetes 
in  the  Vatican,  marble  decrees  concerning  the  relations  between 
the  Keotes  and  i^olians,  and  bits  of  excellent  work.  The  ancient 
Greeks  of  Karthaia  were  advanced  in  the  arts,  as  is  evinced  by  a 
beautiful  tombstone  we  were  shown  in  the  demarcheion  of  Keos  of  a 
woman  and  child  which  had  lately  been  discovered  at  Karthaia.  But 
these  things  only  prove  what  a  vast  deal  more  there  is  buried  in 
the  soil  here.  A  few  years  ago  in  the  western  valley  an  inscription 
was  discovered  proving  the  existence  of  a  temple  of  ^Esculapius. 
The  demarch  of  Keos  immediately  organised  an  excavation,  and 
discovered  the  wall  of  a  temple  ;  but  the  Government  got  to  hear 
of  it,  and  forbade  any  further  digging ;  and  the  consequence  is  that 
the  spot  is  now  almost  entirely  hidden  by  the  soil  that  has  been 
washed  over  it  by  the  rain.  Close  to  this  spot  is  the  theatre  of 
Karthaia,  very  much  damaged,  but  the  form  of  it  still  distinct ;  and 
all  along  the  spur  of  the  hillside  are  huge  Cyclopean  stones,  those 
which  supported  the  proaulion  of  the  temple  of  Apollo,  having  been 
further  supported  by  the  later  introduction  between  them  of  Roman 
masonry.  One  of  the  stones  in  the  wall  on  the  western  slope  I 
measured,  and  found  it  to  be  four  yards  thirteen  inches  in  length 
and  over  two  yards  in  width.  On  the  summit  of  the  spur  was  the 
acropolis  and  the  ruins  of  a  temple  of  Artemis,  now  converted  into 
a  little  church  dedicated  to  the  Virgin.  The  ancient  entrances 
into  the  walls  are  still  easily  recognisable,  and  the  two  approaches 
which  came  up  the  spur  on  either  side  and  entered  the  wall  of  the 
inner  city  by  one  gate  just  behind  the  temple  of  Apollo. 

Karthaia  possesses  a  circular  but  badly  protected  bay,  where 

H  H  2 


468  THE  CYCLADES. 


no  boats  can  approach  in  a  southern  wind,  though  the  old  mole, 
which  once  joined  the  island  rock  in  the  bay  to  the  mainland,  must 
have  afforded  some  protection  to  small  craft.  On  a  cliff  projecting 
over  the  sea  we  read  the  rock-cut  inscription  BOHGOS  KAA02 
AIMHNAIO.  Above  the  town  are  traces  of  the  old  mountain  roads 
which  joined  Karthaia  to  Poiessa,  which  latter  town  shared  the  fate 
of  Koressia,  and  was  incorporated  in  the  bigger  Karthaia.  These 
four  cities  in  one  small  island  do  not  seem  to  have  been  of  one 
mind  by  any  means ;  we  read  of  treaties  between  Athens  and 
loulis  in  which  Karthaia  was  not  included,  though  only  a  few 
miles  apart ;  but  then  the  mountain  barrier  between  them  is  far 
greater  than  that  which  existed  between  Athens  and  her  rival  on 
the  Thriasian  plain. 

4.  Poiessa^  the  fourth  Keote  city,  was  built  on  a  hill  projecting 
into  the  sea  on  the  western  side  of  the  island,  from  the  summit  of 
which  a  lovely  view  up  the  Saronic  Gulf  to  distant  Attica  is  obtained. 
There  were  two  little  temples  on  the  summit,  one  of  which  was 
dedicated  to  Apollo,  and  gazes  directly  on  its  more  celebrated 
namesake,  the  white  temple  of  Sunium.  One  point  of  interest 
which  we  noticed  here  was  an  ancient  cistern  for  rain  water,  so 
constructed  that  the  water  could  clear  and  mud  settle  before  it  ran 
into  the  main  tank  by  means  of  a  gallery.  Otherwise  the  ruins  of 
Poiessa  are  uninteresting — a  place  of  secondary  importance,  a  sort 
of  fishing  village — and  amongst  the  ruins  of  it  have  been  found 
more  plunmiets  for  sinking  lines  than  in  either  of  the  other  towns. 


469 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

AMORGOS. 

I.  During  Easter  Week, 

This,  the  remotest  island  of  the  Cycladic  group,  and  the 
bulwark,  so  to  speak,  of  the  modern  Greek  kingdom, 
would  well  repay  a  visit  at  any  other  time  than  Easter 
week  for  its  quaint  costumes  and  customs  and  unadul- 
terated simplicity.  But  those  are  luckiest  who  can  visit 
it  then,  for  Easter  is  the  great  festival  {iravrfivpii)  of 
Amorgos,  and  is  unlike  Easter  in  other  parts  of  Greece 
at  this  time,  for  the  Amorgiotes^  devote  themselves  to 
religious  services  and  observances  which  now  scandalise 
the  more  advanced  lights  of  the  Hellenic  Church,  and 
greatly  annoy  the  liberal-minded  Methodios,  Archbishop 
of  Syra,  in  whose  diocese  Amorgos  is  situated,  and  who 
cannot  bear  the  prophetic  source  (/j^aurslov)  for  which 
this  island  is  celebrated,  and  would  stop  it  if  he  dared  ; 
but  popular  feeling,  and  the  priests,  who  gain  thereby, 
prevent  him. 

The  steamer  now  touches  here  once  a  week — a  dan- 
gerous enemy,  indeed,  to  these  primeval  customs,  but 
pleasanter  than  a  caYque — so  we  availed  ourselves  of  it, 
and  armed  ourselves  with  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the 
demarch,  for  we  had  heard  sorry  rumours  about  the 
honesty  of  the  -  men  of  Amorgos  and  their  proneness  to 


470  THE  CYCLADES, 


theft,  the  fact  being  that  Amorgos  was  one  of  the  last 
strongholds  of  piracy,  and  consequently  the  evil  name  has 
stuck  to  them  in  spite  of  the  abandonment  of  their 
nefarious  practices. 

It  is  seldom  calm  between  Amorgos  and  her  neigh- 
bours ;  the  full  force  of  the  Icarian  Sea  runs  into  a  narrow 
channel  which  separates  her  from  some  smaller  islands, 
and  the  limpet  rocks  and  the  black  nose  of  Amorgos 
are  justly  dreaded  by  mariners.  This  fact,  again,  prior 
to  the  advent  of  the  steamer,  tended  to  keep  the  Amor- 
giotes  to  themselves. 

When  reached  the  harbour  of  Amorgos  is  large 
and  secure  enough  from  all  but  a  western  gale,  and  we 
landed  at  a  few  houses  down  by  the  quay,  which  in 
themselves  do  not  afford  any  interest ;  but  they  are 
built  on  the  site  of  the  old  port  of  Minoa,  one  of  the 
three  cities  of  Amorgos,  and  contain  plenty  of  ancient 
remains. 

On  leaving  this  place,  Katapolis,  or  lower  town,  as 
it  is  called,  we  walked  up  a  fertile  olive-clad  valley,  and, 
after  an  hour's  climb,  we  reached  the  town,  situated  i,ooo 
feet  above  the  sea,  in  a  strong  position,  where  pirates 
could  not  molest  it,  •and  where  everyone  stared  at  us  as 
if  we  had  come  from  the  antipodes.  The  chief  feature 
of  the  place  is  a  big  rock,  lOO  feet  high,  rising  straight 
out  of  the  centre  of  the  town,  on  which  the  mediaeval 
fortress  stood,  and  around  which  cluster  the  flat- 
roofed  houses.  From  the  top  the  view  over  the  much- 
indented  coast  and  peaky  mountains  of  Amorgos  is  truly 
magnificent,  for  Amorgos  is  riband-shaped — very  narrow 
and  long — with  lofty  mountains  and  deep  bays  ;  so  we 
tarried  for  a  long  time  on  this  spot,  admiring  the  scene 
around  us.  Until  quite  recently  the  town  consisted  only 
of  a  belt  of  houses  tightly  packed  around  this  rock,  with 


AMORGOS,  471 


one  church  of  considerable  age.  In  this  we  saw  some 
interesting  votive  offerings.  Round  an  eikon  of  the 
Madonna  was  a  wedding  wreath  which,  we  were  told,  a 
spinster  had  vowed  to  the  Panagia  in  case  she  got  a 
husband.  This  stroke  of  good  fortune  eventually  befell 
her,  and  consequently  she  fulfilled  her  vow.  Mothers 
whose  children  have  recovered  from  illnesses  have  pre- 
sented wax  figures  of  them  to  the  Madonna ;  and  all 
along  the  screen  were  hung  feet,  arms,  ships,  each  of 
which  had  a  history  to  tell  of  relief  from  pain  or  peril. 
It  is  but  an  old  idea  which  the  Greeks  have  inherited 
from  their  ancestors ;  similar  things  have  been  un- 
earthed from  the  ruins  of  ancient  temples — votive  offer- 
ings to  the  gods. 

The  first  object  which  struck  us  was  the  costume  of 
the  elderly  women.  That  wretched  steamer  has  brought 
in  Western  fashions  now,  so  that  the  younger  women  scorn 
their  ancestral  dress ;  but  the  old  crones  still  seem  to 
totter  and  stagger  beneath  the  weight  of  their  traditional 
headgear.  There  is  a  soft  cushion  on  the  top  of  the 
head,  a  foot  high  at  least,  covered  with  a  dark  handker- 
chief and  bound  over  the  forehead  with  a  yellow  one  ; 
behind  the  head  is  another  cushion,  over  which  the  dark 
handkerchief  hangs  half-way  down  the  back,  and  the 
yellow  handkerchief  is  brought  tightly  over  the  mouth, 
so  as  to  leave  only  the  nose  projecting,  and  is  then  bound 
round  so  as  to  support  the  hindermost  cushion.  This 
complicated  erection  rejoices  in  the  name  of  tourlos  or 
*  the  tower,'  and  is  hideously  grotesque,  except  when  the 
old  women  go  to  the  wells,  and  come  back  with  huge 
amphorce  full  of  water  poised  on  the  top  of  it,  plying  their 
spindles  busily  the  while,  totally  unconcerned  about  the 
weight  on  their  heads.  Naturally  a  headdress  such  as 
this  is  not  easy  to  change,  and  the  old  women  rarely  move 


472  THE  CYCLADES, 


it  until  their  heads  itch  too  violently  from  the  vermin 
that  have  collected  within. 

With  the  exception  of  the  trouloSy  pr  tourlos,  the  silks 
and  brocades  of  olden  days  are  abandoned  in  ordinary 
life.  Only  on  the  feast  day  did  we  see  the  rest  of  the 
old  Amorgiote  costume. 

We  made  our  way,  first  of  all,  to  the  public  kaffeneion, 
where  the  magnates  were  assembled,  and  where  I  was 
the  observed  of  all  observers.  A  half-witted  old  man, 
Spiro  by  name,  took  a  great  fancy  to  glaring  at  me,  and 
talking  at  me,  and  otherwise  bringing  me  into  unenvied 
observation.  Poor  Spiro  had  seen  better  days,  but  now 
lived  from  hand  to  mouth — a  meal  here  and  a  crust 
there.  He  always  carried  a  bag  with  him  full  of  cigar 
and  cigarette  ends,  with  the  tobacco  of  which  he  made 
his  own  cigarettes  folded  in  scraps  of  old  newspaper ; 
and  then  when  pleased  he  would  sing  stirring  national 
songs  with  ridiculous  pathos,  which  made  all  his  hearers 
roar  with  laughter. 

From  out  of  the  caf6  window  we  had  a  view  down  a 
street  full  of  wells,  over  twenty  of  them.  Every  house- 
bolder  has  a  right  to  sink  one  here  if  he  is  rich  enough  ; 
if  not  he  has  to  put  up  with  the  public  wells,  which  are 
a  few  paces  above,  and  walled  in.  It  was  a  pretty  sight 
to  watch  the  old  women  going  to  fetch  water,  with  their 
amphorcB  tottering  on  their  heads  and  their  white  knitted 
gloves  on  their  hands,  a  speciality  of  Amorgos. 

The  demarch  received  us  rather  gruffly  at  first ;  he 
was  busy  with  the  weekly  post  which  had  arrived  by  our 
steamer.  He  distributes  the  letters,  there  being  no  post- 
man in  the  island.  But  when  his  labours  were  over  he 
regaled  us  with  the  usual  Greek  hospitality — with  coffee, 
sweetmeats,  and  raki,  and  then  prepared  to  lay  out  a 
programme  for  our  enjoyment 


AMORGOS.  473 


At  a  glance  we  could  see  that  he  was  a  tjTant  in  his 
own  house,  and  his  wife  a  poor,  oppressed  creature,  not 
unlike  one  of  those  women  whom  Simonides  of  Amorgos 
describes  in  his  fragment  on  women — a  chattel  not  to 
appear  in  society,  but  to  do  all  the  cooking  and  slavery 
of  the  house. 

As  soon  as  he  had  sent  off  the  last  letter  he  became 
jollity  itself;  as  they  express  it  in  these  parts,  *He  isy^ 
pinks  to  his  neighbours,  thistles  to  his  household.' 

*  Papa  Demetrios,'  said  he,  *  is  the  only  man  who 
knows  anything  about  Amorgos.' 

So  the  said  priest  was  forthwith  summoned,  and 
entrusted  with  the  charge  of  showing  me  the  lions  of 
Amorgos. 

*  We  had  better  visit  the  points  of  archaeological  in- 
terest first,'  said  the  priest  *  Next  week  we  shall  be  too 
busy  with  the  festival  to  devote  much  time  to  them.' 

So  accordingly  the  three  next  days  were  occupied  in 
visits  to  remote  parts  of  the  island,  old  sites  of  towns, 
old  towers,  and  inscriptions,  whilst  the  world  was  pre- 
paring for  the  Easter  feast. 

On  Good  Friday  evening — the  vigil  of  St  Lazarus, 
as  it  is  called  in  the  Greek  Church — we  met  a  group  of 
children  going  from  house  to  house,  clad  in  light  muslin 
garments,  and  carrying  in  their  arms  an  elaborately 
dressed  doll.  *  This  is  Lazarus,'  they  said  in  answer  to 
my  enquiries  as  to  who  the  doll  was  intended  to  repre- 
sent, and  they  went  on  singing  from  door  to  door.  It  is 
in  a  measure  a  sort  of  passion  play.  Thanks  to  Papa 
Demetrios,  I  was  able  to  get  their  words.  A  child  sings 
to  the  one  who  carries  the  doll — 

*  What  did  you  see  in  Hades,  my  Lazarus  ?  * 

to  which  the  other  with  the  doll  replies — 


474  THE  CYC  LADES, 


*  Dread  sights  I  saw,  and  terrors  dire ; 
Punishments  I  saw,  infernal  fire. 
Kind  neighbours,  just  a  drop  of  water  spare, 
From  off  my  lips  and  heart  to  cleanse 
The  poisonous  vapours  of  the  lower  air, 
And  seek  no  more  to  learn.' 

And  then  the  kind  neighbours  produced  various  articles 
of  food — eggs,  cakes,  &c. — which  Miss  Lazarus  put  into 
her  basket,  and  continued  her  story  at  another  door. 

I  do  not  propose  to  narrate  the  usual  routine  of  a 
Greek  Easter — the  breaking  of  the  long  fast,  the  elabo- 
rately decorated  lambs  to  be  slaughtered  for  the  meal, 
the  nocturnal  services,  and  the  friendly  greetings ;  of 
these  everybody  knows  enough — but  I  shall  confine 
myself  to  what  is  peculiar  to  Amorgos,  and  open  my 
narrative  on  a  lovely  Easter  morning,  when  all  the  world 
were  in  their  festival  attire,  ready  to  participate  in  the 
first  day's  programme. 

First  of  all  I  must  take  the  reader  to  visit  a  convent  de- 
dicated to  the  life-saving  virgin  {iravw^ia  ;)^6)5a)y8«)Tt<7cra), 
the  wonder  of  Amorgos.  It  is  the  wealthiest  convent  in 
Greece  next  to  Megaspelaion,  having  all  the  richest  lands 
in  Amorgos,  and  the  neighbouring  islands  of  Skinousa 
and  Karos  belong  exclusively  to  it,  besides  possessions 
in  Crete,  in  the  Turkish  islands,  and  elsewhere.  The 
position  chosen  for  this  convent  is  most  extraordinary. 
A  long  line  of  cliff,  about  two  miles  from  the  town, 
runs  sheer  down  i,ooo  feet  into  the  sea  ;  a  narrow  road, 
or  ledge,  along  the  coast  leads  along  this  cliff  to  the 
convent,  which  is  built  half-way  up.  Nothing  but  the 
outer  wall  is  visible  as  you  approach.  The  church  and 
cells  are  made  inside  the  rock.  The  whole,  as  Tourne- 
fort  aptly  expresses  it,  resembles  a  chest  of  drawers. 
This  convent  was  founded  by  the  Byzantine  emperor 
Alexius  Comnenus,  whose  picture  existed  until  lately. 


AMORGOS.  475 


but  they  suffer  here  frequently  from  rocks  which  fall 
from  above,  one  of  which  fell  not  long  ago  and  broke 
into  the  apse  of  the  church  and  destroyed  the  picture  of 
the  emperor. 

We  entered  by  a  drawbridge,  with  fortifications 
against  pirates,  and  were  shown  into  the  reception  room, 
where  the  superior,  a  brother  of  the  member  for  Santorin, 
met  us,  and  conducted  us  to  the  cells  in  the  rock  above, 
to  the  large  storehouses  below,  and  to  the  narrow  church, 
with  its  five  magnificent  silver  pictures,  three  of  which 
were  to  be  the  object  of  such  extraordinary  veneration 
during  Easter  week. 

The  position  of  this  convent  is  truly  awful.  From 
the  balconies  one  looks  deep  down  into  the  sea,  and 
overhead  towers  the  red  rock,  blackened  for  some 
distance  by  the  smoke  of  the  convent  fires ;  here  and 
there  are  dotted  holes  in  the  rock  where  hermits  used  to 
dwell  in  almost  inaccessible  eyries.  It  is,  geographically 
speaking,  the  natural  frontier  of  Greece.  Not  twenty 
miles  off  we  could  see  from  the  balcony  the  Turkish 
islands,  and  beyond  them  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor.  In 
fact  the  Turkish  island  of  Astypalaea  seems  scarcely  five 
miles  away.  The  Greeks  say  it  ought  to  belong  to  them, 
but  when  the  boundary  line  was  drawn  by  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  Powers  in  conference,  they  had  such  a  bad 
map  before  them  that  it  was  assigned  to  Turkey.  Our 
friendly  monks  looked  too  sleepy  and  wanting  in  energy 
to  think  of  suicide,  otherwise  every  advantage  would 
here  be  within  their  reach. 

Three  of  the  five  silver  eikons  in  the  church  were  to 
be  the  object  of  our  veneration  for  seven  days  to  come. 
One  adorns  a  portrait  of  the  Madonna  herself,  found, 
they  say,  by  some  sailors  in  the  sea  below,  in  two  pieces, 
in  which  condition  it  was  washed   all   the   way   from 


476  THE  CYCLADES. 


Cyprus,  having  been  treated  profanely  there.  It  is  beau- 
tifully embossed  with  silver  and  gold,  as  are  also  the 
other  eikons.  This  fashion  of  fulfilling  a  vow  by  putting 
a  silver  arm  or  limb  on  a  sacred  picture  has  had  a  curious 
effect  on  the  general  appearance,  and  reminds  us  of  the 
statue  mentioned  by  Lucian  which  Eucrates  had  in 
his  house,  and  had  gilded  the  breast  as  a  thank-offering 
for  recovery  from  a  fever.  A  second  is  of  St  George 
Balsamitis,  the  patron  saint  of  the  prophetic  source  of 
Amorgos,  of  which  more  anon  ;  and  another  is  an  iron 
cross,  set  in  silver,  and  found,  they  say,  on  the  heights 
of  Mount  Krytelos,  a  desolate  mountain  to  the  north  of 
Amorgos,  only  visited  by  peasants,  who  go  there  to  cut 
down  the  prickly  evergreen  oak  which  covers  it,  as  fodder 
for  their  mules. 

We  were  up  and  about  early  on  Easter  morning  ;  the 
clanging  of  bells  and  the  bustle  beneath  our  windows 
made  it  impossible  to  sleep.  Papa  Demetrios  came  in, 
dressed  exceedingly  smartly  in  his  best  canonicals,  to 
give  us  the  Easter  greeting.  Even  the  demarch  was 
more  condescending  to  his  wife  to-day.  At  nine  o'clock 
we  and  all  the  world  started  forth  on  our  pilgrimage  to 
meet  the  holy  eikons  from  the  convent.  The  place  of 
meeting  was  only  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  town, 
at  the  top  of  the  steep  cliflf,  and  here  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  island  from  the  villages  far  and  near  were  assem- 
bled to  do  reverence. 

I  was  puzzled  as  to  what  could  be  the  meaning  of 
three  round  circles,  like  threshing  floors,  left  empty  in 
the  midst  of  the  assemblage.  All  round  were  spread 
gay  rugs  and  carpets  and  rich  brocades  ;  everyone 
seemed  subdued  by  a  sort  of  reverential  awe.  Papa 
Demetrios  and  two  other  chosen  priests,  together  with 
their  acolytes,  set  forth  along  the  narrow  road  to  the 


AMORGOS,  A77 


convent  to  fetch  the  eikons,  for  no  monk  is  allowed  to 
participate  in  this  great  ceremony.  They  must  stop  in 
their  cells  and  pray ;  it  would  never  do'  for  them  to  be 
contaminated  by  the  pomps  and  vanities  of  so  gay  a 
throng.  So  at  the  convent  door,  year  after  year  at  Easter 
time,  the  superior  hands  over  to  the  three  priests  the 
three  most  precious  eikons,  to  be  worshipped  for  a  week. 
A  standard  led  the  way,  the  iron  cross  on  a  staff  followed, 
the  two  eikons  came  next,  and  as  they  wended  their 
way  by  the  narrow  path  along  the  sea  the  priests  and 
their  acolytes  chanted  monotonous  music  of  praise.  The 
crowd  was  now  in  breathless  excitement  as  they  were 
seen  to  approach,  and  as  the  three  treasures  were  set  up 
in  the  three  threshing-floors  everybody  prostrated  him- 
self on  his  carpet  and  worshipped.  It  was  the  great 
panegyris  of  Amorgos,  and  of  the  5,000  inhabitants  of 
the  island  not  one  who  was  able  to  come  was  absent 

It  was  an  impressive  sight  to  look  upon.  Steep 
mountains  on  either  side,  below  at  a  giddy  depth  the 
blue  sea,  and  all  around  the  fanatical  islanders  were 
lying  prostrate  in  prayer,  wrought  to  the  highest  pitch 
of  religious  fanaticism. 

Amidst  the  firing  of  guns  and  ringing  of  bells  the 
eikons  were  then  conveyed  into  the  town  to  the  Church 
of  Christ,  a  convent  and  church  belonging  to  the  monks 
of  Chozobiotissa,  and  kept  in  readiness  for  them  when 
business  or  dissipation  summoned  them  to  leave  their 
cave  retreat.  Here  vespers  were  sung  in  the  presence 
of  a  crowded  audience,  and  the  first  event  of  the  feast 
was  over. 

Elsewhere  in  Greece  on  Easter  Day  dancing  would 
naturally  ensue,  but  out  of  reverence  to  their  guests  no 
festivities  are  allowed  of  a  frivolous  nature,  and  every 
one  walks  to  and  fro  with  a  religious  awe  upon  him. 


478  THE  CYCLADES. 


Monday  dawned  fair  and  bright,  as  days  always  do 
about  Easter  time  in  Greece.  Again  the  bustle  and  the 
clanging  of  bells  awoke  us  early.  There  was  a  liturgy 
at  the  Church  of  Christ,  where  the  eikons  were,  and 
after  that  a  priest  was  despatched  in  all  hurry  up  to  the 
summit  of  Mount  Elias,  which  towers  some  2,000  feet 
above  the  town.  Here  there  is  a  small  chapel  dedicated 
to  the  prophet,  and  this  was  now  prepared  for  the  recep- 
tion of  the  eikons  by  the  priest  and  his  men,  and  tables 
were  spread  with  food  and  wine  to  regale  such  faithful 
as  could  climb  so  far.  Meanwhile  we  watched  what 
was  going  on  below  in  the  town,  and  saw  the  proces- 
sions form,  and  the  eikons  go  and  pay  their  respects  to 
other  shrines  prior  to  commencing  their  arduous  ascent 
up  Mount  Elias.  It  was  curious  to  watch  the  progress 
up  the  rugged  slopes,  the  standard  bearer  in  front,  the 
eikons  and  priests  behind,  chanting  hard  all  the  time 
with  lungs  of  iron.  Not  so  my  friend  the  demarch,  with 
whom  I  walked.  His  portly  frame  felt  serious  inconve- 
nience from  such  violent  exercise,  so  we  sat  for  a  while 
on  a  stone,  and  he  related  to  me  how  in  times  of  drought 
these  eikons  would  be  borrowed  from  the  convent  to 
make  a  similar  ascent  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Elias  to 
pray  for  rain,  and  how  the  peasants  would  follow  in 
crowds  to  kneel  and  pray  before  the  shrine. 

It  is  strange  how  closely  the  prophet  Elias  of  the 
Christian  Greek  ritual  corresponds  to  Apollo,  the  sun 
god  of  old  ;  the  name  Elias  and  Helios  doubtless  sug- 
gested the  idea.  When  it  thunders  they  say  Prophet 
Elias  is  driving  in  his  chariot  in  pursuit  of  dragons  ; 
he  can  send  rain  when  he  likes,  like  ofi^pios  Zev$ 
of  ancient  mythology  ;  and  his  temples,  like  those  of 
Phoebus  Apollo,  are  invariably  set  on  high,  and  visited 
with  great  reverence  in  times  of  drought  or  deluge. 


AMORGOS,  479 


After  the  liturgy  on  Mount  Elias  the  somewhat  tired 
priests  partook  of  the  refreshments  prepared  for  them, 
for  Phcebus  Apollo  was  very  hot  to-day,  and  the  eikons 
were  heavy  ;  and  my  host,  the  demarch,  enjoyed  himself 
vastly,  for  his  pious  effort  was  over,  and  the  descent 
was  simple  to  him. 

All  the  unenergetic  world  was  waiting  below,  but  we 
who  had  been  to  the  top  felt  immensely  superior,  and 
Papa  Demetrios  gaily  chaffed  the  lazy  ones  on  the  way 
to  vespers  in  the  Metropolitan  Church  for  their  lack  of 
religious  zeal.  Here  the  eikons  spent  the  second  night 
of  their  absence  from  home.  I  was  very  curious  about 
the  next  day's  proceedings,  for  on  Tuesday  the  eikons 
were  to  visit  the  once  celebrated  Church  of  St.  George 
Balsamitis,  where  is  the  prophetic  source  of  Amorgos. 
So  I  left  the  town  early  with  a  view  to  studying  this 
spot,  and  if  possible  to  open  the  oracle  for  myself  before 
the  crowd  and  the  eikons  should  arrive.  It  is  a  wild 
walk  along  a  narrow  mountain  ridge  to  the  Church  of  St. 
George,  about  two  miles  from  the  town.  Here  I  found 
Papa  Anatolios,  who  has  charge  of  this  prophetic  stream, 
very  busily  engaged  in  preparing  for  his  guests.  A 
repast  for  twenty  was  being  laid  out  in  the  refectory, 
and  he  said  a  great  deal  about  being  too  much  occupied 
when  I  told  him  I  wished  to  consult  his  oracle. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  century  and  during  the  war 
of  independence  this  oracle  of  Amorgos  was  consulted- 
by  thousands :  sailors  from  all  the  islands  round  would 
come  to  consult  it  prior  to  taking  a  lengthened  voyage ; 
young  men  and  maidens  would  consult  it  prior  to  taking 
the  important  step  of  matrimony :  but  during  the  piratical 
days  which  followed,  the  discovery  was  made  that  evil- 
intentioned  men  would  work  the  oracle  for  their  own 
ends.     The  spot  is   unprotected  and  easy  of  approach 


48o  THE  CYC  LADES, 


\1 


I    I 


from  the  sea,  so  the  pirates  used  to  bribe  the  officiating 
priest  to  send  an  unwitting  mariner  to  his  doom. 
Despite  all  this  the  oracle  is  much  consulted  by  the 
credulous,  and  reminds  one  forcibly  of  the  shrine  of 
Delphi  of  old,  or  the  sanctuary  of  Trophonius,  in  the 
fluctuations  of  popular  favour  which  have  attended  its 
utterings. 

There  is  the  church  on  the  slopes  of  a  hill  command- 
ing an  almost  deserted  valley,  there  are  the  tall  religious 
cypresses  towering  above  it.  The  genius  of  the  place  is 
decidedly  awe-inspiring.  No  habitations  are  near,  only 
the  ruins  of  an  old  water  mill,  garlanded  with  maiden- 
hair, which  was  once  doubtless  worked  by  a  branch  of 
the  sacred  stream.  Over  the  doorway  as  I  entered  I 
read  that  the  church  was  repaired  in  1688,  and  then  I 
stepped  with  Papa  Anatolios  into  the  dark  pronaos, 
covered  with  frescoes  representing  the  adventures  of  St. 
George,  the  modern  Theseus,  of  St.  Charalambos,  the 
modem  iEsculaplius,  and  of  St.  Nicholas,  the  modem 
Poseidon,  the  tutelary  deity  of  seamen. 

On  entering  the  narthex  Papa  Anatolios  still  de- 
murred much  about  opening  the  oracle  for  me,  fearing 
that  I  intended  to  scoff ;  but  at  length  I  prevailed  upon 
him,  and  he  put  on  his  purple  stole,^  and  went  hurriedly 
through  the  liturgy  to  St.  George  before  the  altar.  After 
this  he  took  a  tumbler,  which  he  asked  me  carefully  to 
inspect,  and  on  my  expressing  my  satisfaction  as  to  its 
cleanness  he  proceeded  to  unlock  a  little  chapel  on  the 
right  side  of  the  narthex  with  mysterious  gratings  all 
round,  and  adorned  inside  and  out  with  frescoes  of  the 
Byzantine  School. 

'  'EirtTpox^Xtor,  through  which  the  priest  puts  his  head,  and  the  ends 
hang  down  in  front ;  sometimes  they  are  studded  with  gold  and  gems. 
They  are  worn  at  every  sacred  function. 


AMORGOS.  481 


Here  was  the  sacred  stream,  the  a^ikar^ia^  which 
flows  into  a  marble  basin,  carefully  kept  clean  with  a 
sponge  at  hand  for  the  purpose  lest  any  extraneous 
matter  should  by  chance  get  in.  Thereupon  he  filled 
the  tumbler  and  went  to  examine  its  contents  in  the 
sun's  rays  with  a  microscope  that  he  might  read  my 
destiny.  He  then  returned  to  the  steps  of  the  altar  and 
solemnly  delivered  his  oracle.  The  priests  of  St  George 
have  numerous  unwritten  rules,  which  they  hand  down 
from  one  to  the  other,  and  which  guide  them  in  deliver- 
ing their  answers.  Papa  Anatolios  told  me  many  of 
them. 

1.  If  the  water  is  clear,  with  many  white  specks  in  it 
about  the  size  of  a  small  pearl,  and  if  these  sink  but  rise 
again,  it  signifies  health  and  success  but  much  contro- 
versy. I  was  a  foreigner  and  a  guest,  so  politely  he 
prophesied  this  lot  for  me. 

2.  If  there  is  a  small  white  insect  in  the  water,  which 
rushes  about  hither  and  thither  in  the  glass,  there  is  no 
fear  of  storm  or  fire. 

3.  Black  specks  are  bad,  and  indicate  all  sorts  of 
misfortunes,  according  to  their  position  in  the  water  ;  if 
they  float  they  are  prospective.  Some  that  appeared 
in  my  glass  sank  ;  these  Papa  Anatolios  told  me  referred 
to  difficulties  of  the  past. 

4.  Hairs  are  often  found  therein  ;  these  indicate 
cares,  ill-health,  and  loss  of  money.  From  these  I  was 
luckily  exempt,  but  my  unfortunate  servant,  who  tried 
his  luck  after  me,  had  lots  in  his  glass.  Poor  man  !  he 
never  recovered  his  peace  of  mind  till  dinner  time,  when 
the  enlightened  demarch  laughed  at  his  fears  and  told 
him  some  reassuring  anecdotes. 

5.  When  you  ask  a  direct  question  concerning  matri- 
mony or  otherwise  the  wily  priest  regulates  his  answers 

I  I 


482  THE  CYC  LADES. 


by  these  microscopic  atoms  which  float  in  the  glass.  If 
the  marble  bowl  is  empty  at  Easter  time  the  year  will 
be  a  bad  one  ;  if  full,  the  contrary.  This  is  easily  ac- 
counted for  by  the  rainfall. 

These  and  many  other  points  Papa  Anatolios  told 
me,  and  I  thanked  him  for  letting  me  off  so  mercifully. 

To  my  surprise  on  offering  him  a  remuneration  for 
opening  to  me  the  oracle  he  flatly  refused  and  seemed 
indignant. 

Whilst  waiting  for  the  guests  Papa  Anatolios  dis- 
coursed freely  about  his  oracle.  Centuries  ago,  he  said, 
some  lepers  had  bathed  here  and  became  clean,  there- 
upon they  dug  in  the  ground  and  found  the  eikon  of  St. 
George,  which  now,  set  in  silver,  is  kept  at  the  convent, 
and  was  just  about  to  revisit  its  hiding-place.  The 
church  of  the  oracle  is  rich,  and  at  various  epochs  it 
has  been  filled  with  ex  voto  offerings,  such  as  wedding 
wreaths  from  those  who  have  consulted  the  oracle  prior 
to  matrimony  and  have  been  satisfied  with  the  result ; 
silver  ships  from  mariners  whose  course  has  been  directed 
safely  by  the  oracle.  All  manner  and  kind  of  gifts  were 
hanging  up  here  and  there  in  dazzling  confusion,  very  like, 
I  thought,  what  an  old  heathen  temple  must  have  looked 
when  hung  around  with  the  avadrjiutra  to  the  goids. 
Nowhere  is  one  brought  so  closely  face  to  face  with  the 
connecting  links  between  heathendom  and  Christendom 
as  one  is  in  Greece. 

About  midday  we  heard  the  distant  chanting  of  the 
procession,  and  soon  the  three  eikons  and  their  bearers 
were  upon  us.  After  the  liturgy  was  over,  and  the 
religious  visit  paid,  we  had  a  very  jolly  party  in  the 
refectory.  Papa  Anatolios  produced  the  best  products 
of  the  island — lambs,  kids,  fresh-curdled  cheese,  wines, 
and  fruits — and  it  was  not  till  late  in  the  afternoon  that 


AMORGOS,  483 


we  started  on  our  homeward  route,  still  chanting  and 
still  worshipping  these  strange  silver  pictures  from  the 
convent. 

With  regard  to  the  antiquity  of  this  prophetic  source 
there  is  little  reliable  information.  Everyone  who  has 
been  to  Amorgos,  from  Father  Richard  in  165 1  to  Ross 
in  1 84 1— all  mention  it,  but  they,  curiously  enough, 
only  mention  that  the  oracle  was  taken  from  the  rise 
and  fall  of  the  water.  Capo  d'Istria  when  he  took 
the  head  of  the  government  in  regenerated  Greece 
ordered  this  as  well  as  a  prophetic  source  in  the  island 
of  Scyros  to  be  closed,  but  the  popular  feeling  was  too 
strong  -  it  had  to  be  restored.  These  things  seem  to 
flourish  under  opposition,  and  to  die  a  natural  death 
only  when  attacked  by  progressive  civilisation. 

We  were  all  rather  tired  that  evening  on  our  return 
from  the  oracle,  so  next  morning  the  bells  failed  to 
wake  us  early,  and  I  was  glad  to  learn  that  the  eikons 
had  started  on  a  visit  to  a  distant  place  where  I  had 
already  been — Torlaki — where  was  an  old  Hellenic 
watchtower ;  so  during  the  early  part  of  the  day  I 
strolled  quietly  about  the  town,  and  ingratiated  myself 
as  best  I  could  into  the  good  graces  of  the  old  women 
of  the  place,  who  had  much  that  was  quaint  to  tell  me. 

I    had    heard  of  Kera   Maria's   wonderful   skill    in 

incantations,  and  accordingly  wished  to  hear  some  of 

them.     It  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  get  at  these  quack 

charms   for   curing   diseases   by  the   magic  of  certain 

words,  full  faith  in  which  exists  largely  in  the  remote 

islands,  to  the  exasperation  of  the  local  Hippocrates. 

The  old  witch  in  question  was,  of  course,  busy  with  her 

loom,  so   I  sent  my  man  before  me  to  inform  her — by 

no  means  an  untruth — that  the  English  gentleman  had 

a  pain,  and  having  heard  of  her  skill   in  magic  was 

I  2 


484  THE  CYC  LADES, 

desirous  of  being  relieved  of  the  same.  She  mumbled 
to  herself  as  I  entered,  and  as  she  mumbled  she  made 
certain  curious  signs  ;  her  words  were  very  indistinct, 
but  that  evening,  thanks  to  the  kindly  aid  of  Papa 
Demetrios,  I  was  able  to  obtain  them  ;  and  append  a 
literal  translation : — 

Belly  !  woeful  belly  ! 

Woeful  and  fearful  that  thou  art, 

Down  on  the  seashore,  down  on  the  beach, 

Are  three  spoons, 

One  of  them  has  honey,  another  milk,  another  the  entrails  of  a  man. 

Eat  honey,  drink  milk,  and  leave  the  bowels  of  the  man. 

The  quaintness  of  these  incantations  struck  me  for- 
cibly in  my  wanderings  through  the  islands.    I  collected 
many  of  them,  but  none  quainter  than  this.     Erysipelas, 
too,  she  says  she  can  cure  by  putting  a  little  honey  on  a 
dish,  and  taking  a  feather  at  the  same  time  and  rubbing 
the  honey  on  the  wound   as  she  chants  some  mystic 
words.     Whether  I  benefited  by  the  old  dame's  cure  or 
not  I  shall  never  know  ;  at  all  events  I  was  strong  enough 
that  evening  to  walk  down  to  the  seashore  to  see  the 
arrival  there  of  the  eikons,  with  their  wonted  accompani- 
ment of  chanting  and  festivity.   The  little  harbour  village 
was  decked  with  flags,  the  caYques  and  brigs  were  also 
adorned,  and  a  good  deal  of  firing  was  going  on  in  honour 
of  the  event.     That  evening  the  eikons  and  I  passed  by 
the  harbour,  certainly  to    my  personal  discomfort,  for 
never  in  the  course  of  my  wanderings  did  I  rest  under  a 
dirtier  roof  than  that  of  Papa  Manoulas.     He  is  a  pro- 
verbial Greek  priest,  having  a  family  of  eleven  children  ; 
he  keeps  a  sort  of  wineshop  restaurant  for  sailors,  and 
excused  the  dirtiness  of  his  table  by  saying  that  men  had 
been  drunk  in  his  house  the  night  before.    He  cooked  our 
dinner  for  us  in  his  tall  hat,  cassock,  and  shirt  sleeves, 


AMORGOS.  481 


and  then  put  me  to  sleep  in  a  box  at  the  top  of  a  ladder 
in  one  corner  of  the  caf<6,  which  was  redolent  of  stock- 
fish and  alive  with  vermin. 

I  wanted  no  waking  next  morning,  and  was  pacing 
the  seashore  long  before  the  eikons  had  begun  their 
day's  work  ;  it  was  fresh  and  bright  everywhere  except 
in  Papa  Manoulas'  hole.  To-day  was  to  be  the  blessing 
of  the  ships,  and  as  every  Amorgiote,  directly  or  indirectly, 
is  interested  in  shipping,  it  was  the  chief  day  in  the  esti- 
mation of  most  When  the  procession  reached  the  shore 
the  metropolitan  priest  of  the  island  entered  a  barque 
decorated  with  carpets  and  fine  linen,  carrying  with  him 
the  precious  eikon  of  the  life-saving  Madonna :  he  was 
rowed  to  each  ship  in  turn,  and  blessed  them,  whilst  the 
people  all  knelt  along  the  shore ;  and  as  each  blessing 
was  concluded  a  gun  was  fired  as  a  herald  of  joy.  The 
rest  of  the  day  was  spent  in  revelry.  I  was  glad  not  to 
be  going  to  pass  another  night  under  Papa  Manoulas' 
roof,  for  I  felt  sure  that  it  would  be  dirtier  than  ever. 

Friday  and  Saturday  were  passed  by  the  eikons 
and  priests  in  complimentary  visits  and  liturgies  in  the 
numerous  churches  in  and  around  the  town.  I  did  not 
accompany  them  on  these  journeys,  and  persuaded  Papa 
Demetrios  to  come  off  with  me  on  an  excursion,  for  he, 
too,  was  tired  of  these  repeated  ceremonials,  and  was  not 
sorry  to  transfer  his  eikon  to  inferior  hands. 

The  Sunday  next  after  Easter  may  be  said  to  be  the 
real  festival  in  Amorgos,  for  on  this  day  the  eikons 
return  to  their  home.  The  same  concourse  of  people 
assembled  on  the  spot  where  they  met  them  to  bid  fare- 
well, and  500  men  then  accompany  the  three  priests  all 
the  way  to  the  convent  along  the  narrow  road  ;  and  the 
monks  beneficently  present  each  with  as  much  bread 
and  cheese  as  he  can  carry,  for  which  purpose  large 


486  THE  CYC  LADES, 


baskets  full  of  these  materials  were  collected  at  the  con- 
vent door  ;  and  the  Easter  dole  took  up  well-nigh  all 
the  afternoon. 

Towards  five  o'clock  there  was  a  going  to  and  fro  in 
the  little  plateau  before  the  church.  Old  women  with 
the  large  wagging  tourlos  on  their  heads  arrived  to  get 
a  good  position  for  the  sight,  each  with  their  little  stool 
under  their  arms  -  these  stools  being  about  six  inches 
high,  and  made  of  cross  bits  of  wood  and  covered  with 
goats'  skin.  Places  were  reserved  for  the  demarch  and 
ourselves  on  a  stone  ledge  which  runs  along  the  facade 
of  the  church.  The  musicians  came,  and  had  seats 
placed  for  them  under  the  wavy  plane  tree  which 
occupied  the  middle  of  the  square.  There  were  three  of 
them :  one  with  a  cithara,  another  with  a  lyre,  and 
another  with  a  flute.  They  were  gay,  lively  fellows,  and 
often  made  impromptu  verses  to  their  tune.  One  of 
these  the  demarch,  who  sat  by  me,  repeated,  and  said  it 
had  been  to  urge  on  the  guests  that  were  idle  in  the 
dance  ;  and  on  my  expressing  surprise  and,  perhaps, 
a  little  incredulity,  he  stepped  up  to  the  musicians, 
evidently  to  tell  them  to  sing  a  verse  especially  for 
my  benefit.  Presently,  whilst  I  was  making  a  little 
sketch  of  one  of  the  dancers  unobserved,  as  I  thought, 
to  my  great  discomfiture  a  couplet  was  hurled  at 
me,  which  made  everyone  laugh,  and  which  ran  as 
follows : — 

The  costume  of  Amorgos  is  very  much  admired, 

For  the  Englishman  sitting  there  has  made  a  picture  of  it. 

So  I  was  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  musicians'  ability 
for  impromptu  versification.  After  half  an  hour's  delay 
the  chief  priest  came  and  took  the  place  of  honour, 
being  a  stone  armchair  on  the  same  ledge  on  which  we 


AMORGOS.  487 


were  sitting,  and  this  was  the  signal  for  the  musicians  to 
begin.  The  week's  veneration  for  the  eikons  was  at  an 
end,  and  the  Amorgiotes  were  now  prepared  for  enjoy- 
ment. 

Everyone  knows  the  beauties  of  the  Greek  syrtos,  as 
the  dance  goes  waving  round  and  round  the  plane  tree 
in  a  village  square,  now  fast,  now  slow,  now  three  deep, 
now  a  single  line,  and  then  the  capers  of  the  leader  as 
he  twists  and  wriggles  in  contortions.  Here  in  Amorgos 
the  sight  was  improved  by  the  brilliancy  of  one  or  two 
old  costumes.  One  lady  especially  was  resplendent :  her 
tourlos  was  of  green  and  red,  her  scarf  an  Eastern  hand- 
kerchief, such  as  we  now  use  for  antimacassars  ;  coins  and 
gold  ornaments  hung  in  profusion  over  her  breast,  her 
stomacher  was  of  green  and  gold  brocade,  a  gold  sash 
round  her  waist,  and  a  white  crimped  petticoat  with 
flying  streamers  of  pink  and  blue  silk,  pretty  little 
brown  skin  shoes  with  red  and  green  embroidery  on 
them.  She  was  an  excellent  dancer,  too,  a  real  joy  to 
look  upon.  The  men  wore  their  baggy  trousers,  bright- 
coloured  stockings,  and  embroidered  coats  ;  but  the  men 
of  Amorgos  are  not  equal  to  the  women.  The  beauty  of 
an  Amorgiote  female  is  proverbial.  Thus  the  festivities 
of  Easter  week  were  brought  to  a  close.  We  will  now 
wander  through  the  island  with  Papa  Demetrios,  and  see 
its  beauties. 


488  THE  CYC  LADES. 


2.    Through   the   Island. 

One  of  our  expeditions  before  Easter  began  was  to 
the  northern  end  of  the  island,  the  demarchy  of  Aigiale, 
where  Papa  Demetrios  engaged  to  show  us  five  villages, 
the   remains   of  antiquity,  and  lovely   scenery.     Papa 
Demetrios  was  in  many  ways   a  most  intelligent  man, 
but,  as  is  usual  with  the  Greek  priest,  he  is  a  peasant  of 
humble  origin  ;  but  he  is  devoted  to  archaeology,  and 
before  we  started  he  took  me  to  his  house,  where  he  had 
collected  all  sorts  of  odds  and  ends  from  all  parts  of  his 
native  island :  he,  his  stalwart  wife,  and  his  quiverful 
all  dwelt  in  two  rooms,  with  hardly  any  furniture  in  them 
except  antiquities — fine,  large  amphorcSy  an  interesting 
stele  representing  Charon  in  his  boat   handing  in   the 
dead,  which   boat   apparently   had   a   canvas    bulwark 
just  like  a  modem  caique.     Then  there  were  all  sorts  of 
ancient  tools — basalt  instruments  for  polishing  marble, 
weights  and  measures,  plummet  lines,  &c.,  baskets  full 
of  lamps  and  heads.     Again,  Papa  Demetrios  is   well 
versed  and  interested  in  the  folklore  of  his  country ;  he 
does   not   believe  quite   all    he   hears   or   quite  all  he 
preaches,  but  then  for  expediency's  sake  it  is  better  to 
humour  the  people. 

It  was  a  wet  morning,  and  the  good  priest  would 
willingly  have  stopped  at  home  had  I  not  urged  him  to 
start.  *"God  is  emptying  His  bowl,''  my  parishioners 
would  say,*  and  then  he  explained  the  prevalent  idea  that 
God,  like  Zeus  of  antiquity,  has  a  bowl  or  receptacle  full 
of  water,  which  He  shakes,  and  then  clouds  come  out  ; 
these  fall  to  the  earth  as  rain  or  snow.     Symptoms  of 


AMORGOS,  489 


clearing  up  having  set  in  by  eleven,  we  started,  and 
took  our  way  along  the  western  coast.  Quite  a  speciality 
of  Amorgos  are  the  well-preserved  Hellenic  towers ;  there 
are  more  here  than  I  observed  in  any  island,  and  the  one 
at  Arkesini  is  about  the  best  in  Greece.  We  passed  by 
two  on  our  expedition  this  morning,  the  first  at  a  spot 
called  Torlaki,  a  square  one  with  traces  of  an  arched  door. 
Further  on,  at  Richti,  we  passed  a  round  one,  ten  and  a 
half  yards  in  diameter,  with  an  entrance .  one  yard  four 
inches  wide,  and  part  of  the  wall  forty  feet  high  still 
standing,  with  narrow  windows  for  shooting  out  of  still 
preserved.  We  saw  several  other  watchtowers  on  our 
way,  and  about  two  o'clock  we  drew  up  at  a  mandra  for 
some  refreshments  ;  it  was  all  full  of  smoke  and  filth,  but 
everyone  knew  and  worshipped  Papa  Demetrios — he  had 
but  to  command,  and  the  thing  was  done. 

As  we  approached  the  bay  of  Aigiale  to  our  left 
we  passed  the  island  of  Nikousia,  which  protects  this 
harbour,  and  is  used  as  a  place  of  banishment  for  Amor- 
giote  lepers.  And  then  about  five  hours  after  leaving  the 
capital  we  entered  the  demarchy  of  Aigiale,  which  consists 
of  five  villages  dotted  up  and  down  an  exceedingly 
fertile  valley.  Down  by  the  harbour  is  the  village  of 
St.  Nicholas,  where  there  are  lots  of  ruins,  chiefly  of  the 
Roman  epoch,  vaulted  tombs,  and  a  place  which  must 
have  been  a  bath  and  the  remains  of  a  temple.  Amorgos 
was  a  place  of  banishment,  and  the  exiles  seem  to  have 
tried  to  make  their  sojourn  here  as  endurable  as  possible ; 
it  must  have  been  life  instead  of  death  to  Vitrius 
Serenus,  when  Tiberius  decided  to  send  him  here  instead 
of  to  Gyaros. 

As  the  afternoon  was  growing  late  we  climbed  up  to 
the  village  of  Tholaria,  where  Papa  Demetrios  promised  us 
comfortable  quarters  for  the  night ;  and  we  arrived  just  in 


490  THE  CYCLADES. 


time  to  see  the  old  women  returning  from  vespers  with 
their  tourli  wagging  on  their  heads.  One  of  these  Papa 
Demetrios  accosted  ;  she  touched  the  ground  and  kissed 
his  proffered  hand  ;  and  he  then  smilingly  asked  her  if 
she  had  been  doing  anything  in  the  magic  line  lately. 

She  at  first  flatly  denied  any  intercourse  with  the 
Evil  One,  with  the  vehemence  of  an  Irish  woman  accused 
of  stealing  potatoes  ;  but  on  the  prospect  of  a  slight  re  • 
muneration  from  the  stranger  she  at  length  admitted 
that  she  knew  a  thing  or  two.  She  could  prepare  a  good 
love  potion,  she  said,  warranted  to  bring  a  suitor  to  any 
love-sick  damsel. 

*  Get  an  animal,  a  mule,  or  a  goat,  even  a  dog  will 
do  if  you  can  get  nothing  better,  open  its  mouth,  and 
make  it  bleed  some  drops  into  your  frying  pan.  Cook 
the  dinner  in  this  without  blowing  the  fire,  and  see  that 
the  man  to  be  won  eats  of  this  dish.' 

I  could  never  have  wormed  this  secret  out  of  the  old 
woman  if  I  had  not  been  aided  and  abetted  by  JPapa 
Demetrios.  I  tried  myself  to  get  something  out  of 
another  old  woman,  but  she  only  laughed  at  me  and 
sang  the  following  punning  distich,  *  I  was  born  in  May 
(Ma£a),  hence  I  fear  no  magic  (Ma^ewi,  7  scarcely  pro- 
nounced) will  hurt  me  in  my  bed.' 

Next  morning  we  went  to  a  spot  called  Vigla  now, 
but  which  was  the  site  of  the  ancient  town  of  Aigiale  ; 
it  must  have  been  a  strong  place,  commanding  sea 
and  land,  and  has  been  chosen  as  a  fortress  by  the  three 
successive  epochs  of  Greek,  Roman,  and  Frank,  as  the 
ruins  attest ;  it  was  probably  the  acropolis  of  the  valley 
of  Aigiale,  then,  as  now,  dotted  over  with  villages. 
Within  the  old  walls  we  saw  the  bases  of  three  statues 
standing,  evidently  in  their  old  position  side  by  side,  one 
of  which,  by  the  inscription  we  saw,  had  been  dedicated 


AMORGOS.  49^ 


to  Hera.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  this  fortress  are 
quantities  of  vaulted  tombs,  of  the  Roman  epoch,  called 
tholaria  {6d\oSy  a  dome),  and  which  gives  the  name  to 
the  modern  village. 

After  the  first  winter  rains  the  urchins  of  Tholaria 
drive  a  famous  trade  in  ancient  coins  up  here,  which 
they  find  amongst  the  ruins.  Many  of  these  have  the 
curious  device  of  Aigiale,  which  Mr.  Lambros,  of  Athens, 
has  lately  identified  as  a  cupping  instrument,  from  which 
he  argues  that  Aigiale  was  dedicated  to  -^sculapius. 

Before  the  heat  of  the  day  came  on  our  cavalcade 
left  Tholaria,  and  we  commenced  our  journey  round  the 
valley  which  encircles  the  harbour.  It  is  most  admirably 
cultivated  in  terraces  forming  narrow  fields  which  run 
up  the  mountain  sides  to  a  great  height. 

The  first  village  we  halted  at  was  Strymbo,  built  in 
an  almost  inaccessible  gorge  — a  wretched  hamlet,  but 
exceedingly  picturesque,  the  inhabitants  of  which  are 
much  despised  by  their  neighbours,  as  uncongenial,  and 
a  trifle  nefarious  in  their  practices.  A  proverb  runs  in 
Amorgos  expressive  of  supreme  contempt :  *  It  is  like 
Strymbo  with  eight  houses  and  twelve  ovens.'  Certainly 
we  counted  a  great  many  ovens,  but  the  houses  were 
decidedly  more  numerous  than  their  supercilious  neigh- 
bours admit. 

Next  we  came  to  Langada,  the  chief  village  of  the 
demarchy  and  the  seat  of  government.  Here  the  women 
were  busily  engaged  in  the  streets  in  preparing  wool  for 
their  looms.  For  this  purpose  they  had  long  rope-walks 
down  the  streets,  made  of  reeds  and  vine-tendrils  fastened 
on  strings,  with  stones  to  steady  them  ;  these  spin  round 
at  a  rapid  rate  as  they  work,  and  are  called  KoXavdhpa. 
Close  to  Langada  is  a  fortified  refuge  from  pirates  on  a 
rock  above  the  village,  most  difficult  of  access  even  when 


492  THE  CYCLADES. 

there  is  nobody  shooting  at  you  from  above.  It  is  forti- 
fied with  walls  and  machicolations,  and  at  the  top  is  a 
tiny  church  and  holes  cut  in  the  rock  for  the  protection 
of  the  soldiers.  These  times  are  over  now ;  but  they 
still  have  a  feast  day  here,  and  climb  up  to  invoke  the 
blessing  of  the  Holy  Trinity. 

I  did  not  like  the  wine  they  gave  us  at  a  remote  spot 
where  we  lunched  that  day.  It  came  out  of  dried  goats' 
skins,  with  the  hairs  left  on  and  turned  inside  (da-Koc)  ; 
this  gives  it  a  strong  flavour,  suggestive  of  goats,  which 
nearly  made  me  sick  ;  but  it  seemed  to  please  Papa 
Demetrios,  who  drank  of  it  freely  and  grew  very  gay. 
He  proposed  I  should  stay  a  very  long  time  at  Amorgos, 
and  that  he  would  take  me  to  shoot  wild  goats  on  Mount 
Krytelos,  that  distant  peak  to  the  north  of  the  island, 
far  away  from  houses  or  civilisation  ;  and  when  the 
summer  came  we  could  sleep  in  the  open  and  have  rare 
sport.  But  I  could  only  give  him  the  indefinite  promise 
of  next  year  (rov  xpoi^ov),  the  only  way  of  escaping  from 
these  pressing  invitations  of  hospitality. 

Apropos  of  sport,  the  priest  asked  me  the  following 
riddle,  to  which,  I  am  ashamed  to  say,  I  had  to  be  told 
the  answer  was  a  spider  : — 

I   live  on  all  sorts  of  sport,  yet  I  never  go  up  to  the  mountain 

forests ; 
I  weave  nets,  and  I  set  them,  yet  I  am  not  a  fisherman  ; 
I  am  found  with  the  poor,  yet  I  am  by  no  means  a  pauper. 
And  with  the  offspring  of  poverty  I  provide  dinner  for  my  belly. 

The  mountain  village  at  which  we  lunched  rejoiced 
in  the  long  name  of  Asphondilitis  ;  it  is  given  to  cheese- 
making,  and  composed  of  hovels.  The  one  in  which  we 
halted  was  full  of  cheeses  drying  on  reeds,  which  were 
hung  from  the  wall  so  as  to  form  shelves,  and  which 
they  call  KaKayjiKLa,     At  this  village  the  old  men  wear 


AMORGOS,  493 


an  ancient  costume  consisting  of  a  curious  waistcoat  oi 
stomacher  and  the  red  skouphiA,  a  knitted  cap,  which 
hangs  down  on  one  side  and  which  their  wives  make  for 
them  at  home,  spinning  the  material  and  dyeing  it  with  a 
sort  of  berry  they  find  on  the  hills.  We  visited  another 
ancient  tower,  and  it  was  quite  late  before  we  reached 
Amorgos  and  the  demarches  comfortable  quarters. 

All  writers  of  antiquity  agree  in  saying  that  Amorgos 
was  three-citied  {rpLitoKis) :  they  were  Aigiale,  the  ruins 
of  which  we  had  seen  ;  Minoa,  with  its  port  (KaraTroXt^) ; 
and  Arkesini.  Each  of  these  towns  has  been  identified 
by  inscriptions  found  in  them  ;  also  these  inscriptions 
further  tell  us  that  Minoa  was  a  colony  from  Samos, 
and  Aigiale  a  Milesian  colony.  Papa  Demetrios  pro- 
posed that  on  the  next  day  we  should  start  early,  visit 
Minoa  and  Arkesini,  amongst  the  ruins  of  which  his 
father  lived  and  he  had  been  brought  up,  pass  the  night 
at  a  hamlet  called  Brytzi,  visit  the  Hellenic  tower,  and 
return  home  on  Friday — Good  Friday,  that  is  to  say.  It 
was  a  hard  programme,  as  mules  could  not  go  along  the 
road  he  proposed  to  take  me. 

First  of  all,  very  early  in  the  morning  we  descended 
to  the  harbour  (Katapolis),  and  there  Papa  Demetrios 
showed  me  the  remains  of  a  temple  of  Pythian  Apollo, 
now  only  discernible  from  certain  pedestals  and  inscrip- 
tions, some  of  which  stand  in  a  field  near  the  shore,  and 
others  are  let  into  the  building  of  a  little  church,  the 
Virgin  of  the  Hundred  Gates.  On  the  steps  before  the 
tempelon  of  this  church  there  is  a  slab,  inscribed  in  late 
Greek  letters,  which  states  that  it  was  put  up  in  honour 
of  one  Aurelius,  of  Minoa ;  there  are  others  about, 
one  of  which  is  in  honour  of  a  Roman  emperor,  another 
to  Dionysos,  another  to  Hera ;  by  far  the  most  are 
of  Roman  date.     A  little  way  along  the  coast  we  came 


494  THE  CYCLADES, 

upon  a  number  of  vaulted  chambers  {tholarid)  built  up 
against  the  cliff,  undoubtedly  Roman  tombs,  containing 
three  or  four  graves  in  each.  Over  each  grave  is  the 
niche  for  glass  vases  and  lamps,  and  over  each  lintel  is  a 
rounded  arch  of  white  marble,  on  which  has  been  an 
inscription,  now  obliterated.  The  natives,  for  the  most 
part,  use  them  as  stalls  for  cattle  and  storehouses  for 
wood,  and  look  upon  them  with  superstitious  awe. 

We  then  climbed  the  summit  on  which  Minoa  once 
stood,  about  600  feet  above  the  sea-level,  and  we  were 
much  struck  with  the  size  of  the  walls  and  the  extent 
of  the  terraces  ;  the  entrance  to  this  inner  town  is  easily 
traced,  and  inside  these  are  numerous  cisterns.  One 
curious  subterranean  building  puzzled  us  much  ;  it  has 
been  approached  by  two  doors  and  steps  downwards. 
The  chamber  to  which  they  conducted  was  six  feet 
high,  about  two  yards  square,  and  roofed  in  by  two 
huge  slabs.  Over  the  doors  were  two  deep  recesses,  and 
on  two  sides  of  this  chamber  were  stone  benches  raised 
about  a  foot  and  a  half  from  the  floor,  and  in  these  benches 
were  round  holes,  open  at  the  outer  edge,  which  looked 
as  if  they  had  been  intended  for  holding  those  large 
amphora.  Below  this  chamber  was  another,  of  apparently 
the  same  nature,  but  so  filled  with  rubbish  that  we  could 
make  no  observations. 

Not  many  yards  from  this  were  the  remains  of  a  big 
building,  of  which  only  one  wall  was  left,  and  slight  traces 
of  a  vaulted  roof,  and  just  outside  it  extended  a  flat 
space,  supported  on  the  outer  side  by  a  huge  wall,  which 
may  have  been  the  stadium.  On  the  southern  slope  of 
the  eminence  is  the  ancient  necropolis,  many  of  the 
graves  of  which  are  still  unopened.  Down  in  the  valley 
beneath  was  a  stream,  or  rather  the  dry  bed  of  what  once 
probably  had  been  a  stream,  for  it  is  walled  in  by  ancient 


AMORGOS,  495 


constructions,  now  useless,  but  which  doubtless  were 
intended  to  protect  the  neighbouring  fields  from  being 
washed  away  ;  all  about  here  are  traces  of  ruins,  for  the 
most  part  turned  into  cattle  stalls.  There  we  saw  what 
had  once  been  the  legs  of  a  beautiful  statue  and  several 
ancient  inscriptions  let  into  the  walls. 

On  leaving  Minoa  we  climbed  a  hill,  and  halted  for 
our  midday  repose  at  a  quaint  farmhouse.  The  forma- 
tion of  the  room  we  entered  was  primitive  :  a  little  low 
table  about  a  foot  high,  with  stools  all  round,  off  which 
we  fed  ;  a  lamp  fixed  to  a  piece  of  wood  nailed  on  to  a 
block,  which  could  be  carried  about  at  will  ;  all  round 
the  wall  ran  a  shelf,  like  a  frieze,  decorated  with  the 
household  gods  ;  old  plates,  of  the  Venetian  epoch, 
mixed  with  bright  pottery  from  the  Dardanelles  ;  in 
one  corner  stood  a  table  on  which,  by  way  of  ornament, 
was  placed  a  red  dried  gourd  and  an  abortive  lemon  ; 
and  the  walls  were  decorated  with  those  rude  religious 
pictures,  a  large  number  of  which  found  their  way  into 
Greece  a  few  years  back  from  Russia,  when  that  country 
hoped,  on  the  score  of  religion,  to  get  a  footing  here. 

Hung  up  against  the  wall  was  the  goatskin  bag  for 
carrying  luggage  when  the  son  of  the  house,  a  fine, 
stalwart  youth  dressed  in  homespun  clothes,  went  on  a 
journey  to  the  town  :  it  was  of  very  simple  construction, 
having  wooden  corks  put  into  the  feet,  sewn  up  the 
middle,  and  strings,  or  rather  thongs  made  out  of  cut 
skin,  for  hanging  it  over  the  shoulder,  passed  through  a 
bone  with  which  to  draw  it  tight :  this  is  the  bourid. 
Then  there  was  the  kaphisi  for  measuring  barley. 

The  old  woman  and  her  grandchild  sat  plucking 
cotton  as  we  entered.  They  seemed  much  pleased  to 
see  us,  and  under  Papa  Demetrios'  wing  there  was  no  fear 
of  our  not  being  most  hospitably  treated  ;  and  at  his 


496  THE  CYC  LADES. 

instigation  the  old  crone  told  us  some  quaint  stories, 
the  effect  of  which  was  enhanced  by  her  huge  white 
tourloSy  which  nodded  mysteriously  as  she  related  how 
an  evil  spirit  lived  close  by,  which  now  and  again  rises 
out  of  the  sea  and  seizes  infants ;  hence  it  is  called 
Gial6u  (from  'yiaXoSy  the  sea).  If  a  child  has  been 
afflicted  by  it  the  mother  first  sends  for  the  priest  to 
curse  the  demon,  and  scratches  her  child  with  her  nails  ; 
if  these  plans  do  not  succeed  she  has  to  go  down  at  sun- 
set to  the  shore,  and  select  forty  round  stones  brought 
up  by  forty  different  waves  ;  these  she  must  take  home 
and  boil  in  vinegar,  and  when  the  cock  crows  the  evil 
phantom  will  disappear  and  leave  the  child  whole. 

After  a  walk  of  two  more  hours  we  approached  the 
rocky  promontory  on  which  Arkesini  was  built :  it  is  a 
splendid  position — a  rocky  spur  running  out  into  the 
sea,  and  protected  on  all  sides  by  lofty  mountains.  The 
spot  is  now  called  Kastri,  but  plenty  of  inscriptions  have 
been  found  here  to  identify  it  as  the  ancient  Arkesini ; 
and  it  is  the  property  of  the  father  of  Papa  Demetrios, 
an  old  man  of  eighty,  who  tills  the  ground,  and,  as  he 
does  so,  rakes  up  numerous  archaeological  treasures  for 
his  son. 

We  entered  the  lowly  abode,  just  under  the  rock, 
where  the  old  man  was  sitting  carving  himself  a  wooden 
spoon,  and  surrounded  by  his  implements  of  husbandry 
— his  plough,  his  sickle,  his  two-pronged  hoe  for  trimming 
his  vines,  still  called  in  Amorgos  the  hUXa  (in  Sophocles 
the  same  instrument  is  referred  to  as  a  BUsWa). 

Our  priest,  on  entering  his  father's  house,  touched 
the  ground  with  his  fingers,  as  a  token  of  respect,  before 
embracing  him.  His  sisters,  on  the  contrary,  touched 
the  ground  with  their  fingers  before  kissing  the  proffered 
hand  of  their  brother.     This  mode  of  greeting  a  priest  is 


AMORGOS,  497 


common  now  only  in  primitive  societies  in  Greece,  as  is 
also  the  old  way  of  greeting  by  placing  the  hand  on 
the  breast  and  inclining  forward,  as  you  say,  "  KaX&s 
a>pi(raT8"  Sometimes  even  you  may  still  see  the  Turkish 
fashion  carried  out,  of  putting  the  hand  first  to  the  lips 
and  then  to  the  forehead. 

Into  the  crannies  of  the  stone  wall  the  old  man  had 
stowed  away  a  lot  of  the  antiquities  that  had  come  to 
hand  recently  whilst  digging.  These  he  generously 
placed  at  my  disposal ;  and,  before  we  left,  he  gave  us  a 
pull  at  his  raki-bottle,  drinking  first  himself,  according 
to  the  old  custom,  to  prove  that  his  liquor  was  not 
poisoned. 

Papa  Demetrios  then  personally  conducted  me  over 
the  ruins,  every  stone  of  which  he  knew  by  heart,  for  he 
had  been  born  and  bred  in  their  very  midst.  Though 
not  very  extensive,  the  ruins  of  Arkesini  are  interesting, 
and  the  rock  on  which  they  stand  recalls  in  miniature 
the  Athenian  acropolis.  There  are  still  to  be  seen  stairs 
and  terraces  right  down  to  the  sea,  and  the  ascent  to  the 
summit  is  only  by  one  narrow  path,  which  we  should 
have  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  without  a  guide. 
Papa  Demetrios  took  great  pride  in  showing  us  his 
father's  work. 

*  Is  not  that  a  credit  to  an  old  man  of  eighty  ?'  he 
said,  pointing  to  a  nearly-made  partition-wall.  'Do  you 
think  it  will  last  as  long  as  that  ? '  drawing  our  attention 
to  a  colossal  Hellenic  structure  as  he  laughed  at  his 
own  joke.  There  are  traces,  too,  of  mediaeval  work  on 
the  summit,  and  lots  of  little  stone  houses,  where  Papa 
Demetrios  told  us  the  guests  from  the  town  used  to  sleep 
when  they  came  here  on  the  annual  festival  in  honour 
of  the  Madonna  of  Kastriani ;  but  this  has  been  aban- 
doned of  late  years,  though  the  church  is  still  kept  in 

KK 


498  THE  CYCLADES. 


good  repair.  The  walls  have  plenty  of  inscriptions  let 
into  them,  and  all  around  are  the  foundations  of  an- 
cient houses  and  pieces  of  what  have  been  good  statues, 
most  of  them  piled  together  in  a  shed  by  the  old  man, 
and  from  amongst  which  I  chose  a  thing  or  two  that 
pleased  me. 

Towards  evening  we  bade  farewell  to  the  old  man 
and  climbed  up  to  the  village  of  Brytzi,  where  we  were 
to  pass  the  night.     It  consists  of  about  fifteen  houses 
clustered  together,  and  on  a  rock  in  the  middle  of  them 
are  some  of  those  singular  writings  cut  in  half-Phoenician, 
half-Greek  letters,  similar  to  some  which  we  had  seen  on 
bur  return  from  Aigiale  ;  these  archaic  letters  are  peculiar 
to  the  islands.     There  is  a  local  proverb  about  the  hos- 
pitality of  this  place  :  "  Whoso  goeth  to  Brytzi  and  does 
not  get  drunk  is  like  a  pilgrim  who  goeth  to  the  Holy 
Sepulchre  and  doth  not  worship  ; '  and  this  hospitality  of 
Brytzi  was  no  empty  boast,  for  on  our  arrival  under  the 
roof  of  a  friend  of  our  guide's  the  neighbours  flocked 
in  with  provender— one  with  eggs,  another  with  wine, 
another  with  bread,  and  finally  our  host  came  in  with 
a  little  pig,  which  he  killed,  skinned,  and  roasted  before 
our  longing  eyes.     As  he  brought  it  into  the  house  he 
made  a  curious  obeisance  and  placed  the  pig  at  my  feet, 
saying  as  he  did   so  a  little  distich,  *  I  have  brought 
you  a  little  pig,  red,  red  as  your  beard  ; '  and  noting  my 
astonishment  and  the  absence  of  any  red  beard,  Papa 
Demetrios  explained  that  this  was  a  customary  way  of 
offering  a  like  present  to  a  guest  whom  they  wished  to 
honour. 

After  dinner  we  had  music,  singing,  and  dancing  to 
the  tune  of  a  primaeval  lyre  ;  and  on  the  morrow,  when 
we  left,  not  a  penny  would  our  host  take  for  all  this 
hospitality,  and  under  circumstances  such  as  this  did  I 


AMORGOS,  499 


realise  the  benefit  of  having  taken  with  me  a  stock  of 
English  penknives,  &c. :  the  people  prized  them  highly  as 
returns  for  hospitality. 

Next  morning  we  walked  a  good  distance  farther 
southwards,  to  see  the  celebrated  watch-tower  of  Amorgos, 
which  is  one  of  the  best  specimens  of  Hellenic  art  pre- 
served. It  is  situated  in  the  centre  of  a  fertile  valley,  and 
is  known  by  the  name  of  'sto  Chori6  (*  to  the  place '),  or 
the  tower  of  Holy  Trinity.  The  hamlet  around  it  climbs 
up  the  mountain  behind,  and  forms  a  picturesque  back- 
ground to  the  tower ;  and  then  there  are  traces  of  other 
towers  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  which  shows  what  an 
important  position  this  once  must  have  been,  command- 
ing not  only  a  fertile  space,  but  also  the  easiest  approach 
to  Arkesini. 

As  is  usual  with  these  towers,  there  is  a  legend 
attached,  and  the  peasants  tell  you  that  years  ago  there 
lived  a  lovely  woman  whose  suitors  were  many,  and  she 
promised  her  hand  to  the  one  who  would  build  her 
the  finest  tower.  Whereupon  all  the  aspirants  set  to 
work  to  build  towers,  and  in  this  way  not  only  are  the 
number  of  towers  in  Amorgos  accounted  for,  but  also 
the  superiority  of  this,  for  she  chose  the  builder  of  it, 
and  came  to  live  here  herself. 

There  is  an  outer  wall  surrounding  a  courtyard,  all 
built  of  the  blue  granite  of  the  island.  This  wall  is 
about  a  yard  thick,  and  some  of  the  stones  in  it  are 
from  six  to  eight  feet  long  and  three  feet  high  ;  but, 
as  usual,  the  lower  courses  of  stones  are  larger  than  the 
higher  ones.  The  wall  is  highly  picturesque,  with  wild 
mastic  and  other  shrubs  growing  on  it. 

Inside  the  courtyard  is  the  tower  itself — square,  and 
in  parts  still  thirty  feet  high — and  the  walls  of  it  have 
several  loopholes  for  shooting  out  of,  about  three  or  four 

K  K  2 


500  THE  CYCLADES. 


feet  high,  and  on  the  inside  nearly  a  yard  wide,  but  pre- 
senting an  external  opening  of  little  over  three  or  four 
inches.  To  the  west  is  a  window  about  a  yard  and  a 
half  wide,  the  only  way  in  which  any  appreciable  amount 
of  light  can  have  been  introduced  into  the  building. 
Unfortunately,  it  is  impossible  now — as  in  the  tower 
of  Andros  ' — to  form  any  idea  of  what  the  interior  was 
like,  for  it  is  a  mass  of  stones  and  rubbish,  which  have 
fallen  from  above.  There  are  two  cisterns  in  connection 
with  the  tower,  one  about  fifty  feet  from  it,  hewn  in 
the  natural  rock,  and  the  other  across  the  valley,  with 
a  conduit  to  the  tower.  Unfortunately  there  are  a  lot  of 
cattle-sheds  built  up  against  the  tower,  which  prevented 
us  from  seeing  the  extent  of  its  outworks  ;  but  the  old 
Hellenic  walls  extend  in  various  directions  from  the 
outer  wall,  and  point  to  extensive  fortifications  around,, 
or  to  the  existence  of  houses  built  under  the  protecting 
wing  of  the  tower. 

In  one  of  these  adjoining  sheds  we  came  across  a 
raki  distillery,  and  were  treated  by  the  owner  to  some 
excellent  wine.  In  the  village  church,  dedicated  to  the 
Holy  Honophrius,  we  found  a  long  inscription,  which 
told  us  that  in  ancient  times  an  agreement  had  been 
entered  into  between  the  priests  of  a  temple  of  Zeus 
Temenetos  near  here,  and  the  husbandmen  who  farmed 
the  sacred  lands,  for  the  supply  of  grapes,  figs,  and  other 
produce  as  a  sort  of  rent 

On  the  other  side  of  the  valley  is  a  village  called 
Rakide,  presumably  from  the  good  raki  which  they  made 
there.  It  contains  many  inscriptions,  and  the  remains  of 
another  tower ;  in  fact,  this  part  of  Amorgos  must  have 
been  extremely  populous  in  ancient  days. 

On  our  return  to  the  capital  we  passed  through  a 
wild,  uncultivated  district  with  lovely  views  over  the  hills 


AMORGOS.  501 


and  sea,  and  we  were  thankful  to  reach  our  quarters 
again,  for  this  travelling  in  mountain  hamlets  is  not  con- 
ducive to  comfort,  and  we  were  anxious  to  join  in  the 
coming  festivities  of  Easter  week. 

The  town  of  Amorgos  itself  does  not  present  many 
interesting  features  for  the  archaeologist ;  the  churches 
are  bare,  and  the  houses  have  but  rude  attempts  at 
decoration,  but  most  of  them  contain  many  interesting 
relics  of  the  Venetian  days,  oak  chests,  embroideries  and 
pottery.  There  are,  too,  a  considerable  number  of  olive- 
presses  here,  primitive  in  construction,  for  the  modern 
improvements  which  have  penetrated  into  other  parts  of 
olive-growing  Greece  have  not  reached  here  yet  They 
consist  of  flat  stones  with  a  circular  rim  ;  on  to  this  the 
olives  are  put  in  bags  and  pressed  with  another  stone 
until  the  oil  runs  out  into  the  rim,  and  from  thence  into 
a  receptacle  placed  for  it  Two  men  usually  turn  the 
upper  stone  by  means  of  wooden  screws  and  iron  bars, 
though  sometimes  mules  are  employed  for  this  purpose. 
I  fancy  that  the  olive-presses  now  in  use  in  Amorgos 
are  not  very  different  from  those  which  their  forefathers 
used  centuries  before  our  era. 


S^ittsu<Mde  &*  Co,    Printers,  Ncw*street  Squart^  Lcndcn. 


BOOKS  OF  TRAVEL  AND  ADVENTURE. 


WORKS    BY    LADY    BRASSEY. 

A  VOYAGE  IN  THE  *  SUNBEAM,'  our  Home  on  the  Ocean 
for  Eleven  Months. 

School  Edition,  with  37  Illuatra 


LibiAiy  Edition,  with  7  Maps  and 

118  Illnstrations,  870. 2U. 
Cabinet  Edition,  with  Map  and  65 


tions,  fcp.  2s. 
Popular  Edition,  with  60  Illastia- 


Illustrations,  crown  8vo.  7«.  6d.     I       tions,  4to.  6d. 

SUNSHINE  AND  STOBM  IN  THE  EAST ;  or.  Cruises  to 
Cyprus  and  Constantinople.  With  2  Maps  and  114  Illustrations 
engraved  on  Wood. 

Library  Edition,  8yo.  21s. 
Cabinet  Edition,  crown  870.  7s.  6d, 

IN  THE  TRADES,  THE  TROPICS,  and  THE  'ROARING 
FORTIES' ;  or,  Fourteen  Thousand  Miles  in  the  Sunbeam  in  1883. 
With  nearly  250  Illustrations  engraved  on  Wood  from  drawings 
by  B.  T.  Fbitchett,  and  8  Maps  and  Charts. 

[Edition  de  Luxe,  1  vol.  imperial  Svo.  price  Three  Guineas  and 

a  Half  (only  250  copies  printed). 
Library  Edition,  1  vol.  Svo.  price  One  Guinea. 


RANCH  NOTES  IN  KANSAS,  COLORADO,  THE 
INDIAN  TERRITORY.  AND  NORTHERN  TEXAS.  By 
Rboinald  Aldridob.  Crown  Svo.  with  4  Illustrations  on  Wood 
by  G.  Fbabsov,    5«. 


i»<»iM»<MMMM»JMK»*rf<<MU»^.»^i*»OMWWWN^» 


London:  LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  GO. 


Boohs  of  Travel  and  Adventure. 


EIGHT  YEABS  IN  OEYIiON.  By  Sir  Samubl  W.  Bakeb,  M.A. 
Grown  Svo.    Woodcnts.    5^* 

THE  MFLB  AND  THE  HOUND  IN  CEYLON.  By  Sir 
Samuel  W.  Baxba,  M.A.    Crown  8vo.    Woodcuts.    5«. 

SOME  IMPRESSIONS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES.  By 
E.  A.  Fbxemax,  D.CL.    Crown  8yo.  68. 

SAN  BEMO,  Climatically  and  Medically  considered.  By  Abthxtb 
Hill  Hassalt.,  M.D.    With  30  UluBtrations.    Crown  8vo.  55. 

« 

WINTEMNa  IN  THE  RIVIERA,  With  Notes  of  Travel 
in  Italy  and  France,  and  Practical  Hints  to  Travellers.  By  W. 
Millbb.    With  12  Hlnstrations.    Post  Svo.  78.  6d, 

THREE  IN  NORWAY.  By  Two  op  Thbm.  With  a  Map  and 
69  Illustrations  on  Wood  from  Sketches  by  the  Authors.  Crown 
Svo.  63. 

ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS  AlTD  THE  ANDES:  being  an 
Account  of  an  Exploring  and  Surveying  Expedition  across  the 
Continent  of  South  America.  By  Bobebt  Cbawfobd,  M.A. 
Professor  of  Civil  Engineering  in  the  University  of  Dublin.  With 
a  Map  and  Illustrations.    Crown  Svo.  7^.  6d, 


London :  LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO. 


LOED  MACAULAY'S  WOEKS. 

AUTHORISED    EDITIONS. 


HISTORY  of  EMLAUD)  frrai  the  ACCESSIOIf  of 

JAMES  the  SECOND  :— 

Student's  Edition,  2  vols,  crown  8to.  129. 
People's  Edition,  4  vols,  crown  8vo.  16«. 
Cabinet  Edition,  8  vols,  post  8vo.  488. 
Library  Edition,  5  vols.  8vo.  £4. 

CRinCAI  and  HISTORICAI  ESSAYS  with  liTS 

of  MCIMT  ROME,  in  One  Volume :— 

Authorised  Edition,  crown  870.  2s.  Qd.  or  3^.  Gd.   gilt 

edges. 
Popular  Edition,  crown  8vo.  2$,  6d, 

CRTTICAI  and  mSTOEICAI  ESSATS :— 

Student's  Edition,  1  vol.  crown  8vo.  6«. 
People's  Edition,  2  vols,  crown  8vo.  8«. 
Cabinet  Edition,  4  vols,  post  8vo.  24«. 
Library  Edition,  3  vols.  8vo.  36^. 

ESSATS,  which  may  be  had  separately,  price  6d. 

each  sewed,  Is.  each  cloth : — 
Addison  &  Walpole. 
Frederick  the  Great. 
Croker^s  Bosweirs  Johnson. 
Hallam's  Constitutional  History. 
Warren  Hastings. 
Lord  Byron  &  The  Comic  Dramatists  of  the  Eestoration. 
The  Essay  on  Warren  Hastings  annotated  by  S.  Hales,  U,  6d. 
The  Essay  on  Lcrd  Clive  annotated  by  H.  Courthopb-Bowkn,  M.A.  2s.  6d. 

LAYS  of  AICIEIIT  ROME  :— 

Illustrated  by  G.  Scharf ,  fcp.  4to.  10s.  Qd. 
Popular  Edition,   fcp.  4to.    6c?. 

sewed,  Is.  cloth. 
Illustrated  by  J.  R.  Weguelin,  crown  8vo.  3s.  Qd.  cloth 

extra,  gilt  edges. 
Cabinet  Edition,  post  8vo.  3a.  6d. 
Annotated  Edition,  fcp.  8vo.  Is.  sewed ;  Is.  6d.  cloth,  or 

28.  6d.  cloth  extra,  gilt  edges. 

London:  LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO. 


The  Earl  of  Chatham   (Two 

Essays). 
Eanke  &  Gladstone. 
MUton  &  Machiavelli. 
Lord  Bacon. 
Lord  Clive. 


STATOAED  HISTORICAL  ¥OMS. 


By  LoPd  MACAULAY. 

HISTORY  of  ENGLAND  from 

the  ACCESSION  of  JAMBS  II. 

Student's  Edition,  2  yoIs.  crown 
8yo.  12$. 

Psoplb's  Edition,  4  yoIb.  crown 
870.  16m. 

CABDnsT  Edition,  8  vols.  p08t8ro. 
prioe48«. 

LiBRABT  Edition,  6  toIs.  8to.£4. 

By  JAMES  A.  FROUDE. 

HISTORY  of  ENGLAND  from 

the  Fall  of  Wolsey  to  the  Defeat  of 
the  Spanish  Armada. 

Popular  Edition,  12  vols,  crown 
8vo.  £2. 2t. 

Cabinet  Edition,  12  vols,  crown 
8yo.  £3. 12«. 

The  ENGLISH  in  IRELAND  in 

the  Eighteenth  Century.  8  toIs. 
crown  8vo.  18*. 

By  S.  R.  GARDINER. 

HISTORY  of  ENGLAND  from 

the  ACCESSION  of  JAMES  I.  to 
the  OUTBREAK  of  the  GREAT 
CIVIL  WAR,  Cabinet  Edition,  in 
Ten  Volumes,  crown  8vo.  64.  each. 

By  W.  E.  H.  LECKY. 

HISTORY  of  ENGLAND  in  the 

Eighteenth  Century.  4  Tola.  8vo. 
1700-1784.    £8.12*. 

The  HISTORY  of  EUROPEAN 

MORALS  from  AUGUSTUS  to 
CHARLEMAGNE.  2  yols.  crown 
8yo.  16t. 

HISTORY   of   the  RISE    and 

Influence  of  the  Spirit  of  Rational- 
ism in  Europe.  2  yols.  crown  8vo. 
price  16*. 

By  Sir  T.  ERSKINE  MAY. 

The  CONSTITUTIONAL  HIS- 
TORY of  ENGLAND  since  the 
ACCESSION  of  GEORGE  III.  1760- 
1870.    3  vols,  crown  8vo.  18*. 

DEMOCRACY  in   EUROPE:    a 

History.    2  vols.  8vo.  32*. 


By  A.  DE  TOCQUEVILLE. 

DEMOCRACY    IN    AMERICA, 

translated  by  H.  Bbbvb.  2  voU. 
crown  8vo.  16*. 

By  H.  T.  BUCKLE. 

HISTORY  of  CIVILISATION  in 

England  and  France,  Spain  and 
Scotland.    3  vols,  crown  8vo.  24*. 

By  the  Rev.  M.  CREIGHTON. 

HISTORYofthe  PAPACY  during 

the  REFORMATIO!^.  Vols.  I.  <&  if. 
1378-1464.    2  vols.  8yo.  32*. 

By  EDWARD  A.  FREEMAN. 

The  HISTORICAL  GEOGRAPHY 

of  EUROPE.  With  65  Maps.  2  vols. 
8vo.  31*.  6d. 

By  Dean  MERIVALE. 

HISTORY  of  the  ROMANS  under 

the  EMPIRE.    8  vols,  post  8vo.  48*. 

By  SPENCER  WALPOLE. 

HISTORY  of  ENGLAND  from 

the  Conclusion  of  the  Great  War  in 
1815  to  the  Year  1841.  8  vols.  8vo. 
price  £2. 14*. 

By  Sir  W.  S.  MAXWELL. 

DON  JOHN  of  AUSTRIA;   or, 

Passages  from  the  History  of  the 
Sixteenth  Century,  1547-1678.  With 
numerous  Illustrations  engraved  on 
Wood,  taken  from  Authentic  Con- 
temporary Sources.  Library  Edition. 
2  vols,  royal  8vo.  42*. 

By  G.  H.  LEWES. 

The  HISTORY  of  PHILOSOPHY, 

from  Thales  to  Comte.  2  vols.  8vo. 
price  82*. 

By  Prof.  G.  RAWLINSON. 

The  SEVENTH  GREAT  ORIEN- 
TAL, MONARCHY ;  or,  a  History 
of  the  Saasanians.  With  Map  and 
95  Illustrations.    8vo.  28*. 


London:  LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO. 


J-TJ2SnE3     1888. 


GENEML  UST8  OF  WORKS 

PUBLISHED  BY 

Mkssbs.   LONGMANS,   GEEEN,   &    CO. 

LONDON    AVO    NBW    YOBK. 


HISTORY,    POLITICS,  HISTORICAL  MEMOIRS,  &c. 

Abbey's  The  English  Church  and  its  Bishops,  1700-1800.    8  toIs.  8to.  Us. 

Abbey  and  Overton's  English  Chorch  In  the  Eighteenth  Century.  Cr.  87o.  7«.  9d, 

'Arnold's  Lectures  on  liodem  History.    8yo.  7s,  M, 

Bagwell's  Ireland  under  the  Tudors.    Vols.  1  and  2.    8  Tola.  8to.  Z2t, 

Ball's  The  Reformed  Church  of  Ireland,  1537-1886.    8to.  7s^  M, 

Bonltbee's  History  of  the  Ohnroh  of  England,  Pre-Betormauon  Period.  8to.  lis. 

Buckle's  History  of  CiTiliaation.    8  vols,  crown  8yo.  Hs, 

Canning  (George)  Some  Official  Correspondence  of.    2  vols.  8to.  28i. 

Oox's  (Sir  G.  W.)  (General  History  of  Oreece.    Crown  8yo.  Maps,  7«.  9d. 

Oreighton's  Papacy  during  the  Reformation.  8to.  yols.l&2,33«.  yols.3&4,S4f. 

De  TooqueviUe's  Democra<7  in  America.    3  vols,  crown  8vo.  16<. 

Denis's  English  in  Amerlra :  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  the  Carolinas,  Svo.  18s. 

—  —  —         The  Puritan  Colonies,  2  vols.  8vo.  36*. 

Bpochs  of  Ancient  History.    Edited  by  the  Rev.  Sir  O.  W.  Cox,  Bart,  and  0. 
Sankey,  MA..    With  Maps.    Fcp.  8 vo.  price  2«.  6d.  each. 


Beesly's  Gracchi,  Maiius,  and  SuUa. 
Gapes's  Age  of  the  Antonines. 

—  Eu'ly  Roman  Empire. 
Coz*8  Athenian  Empire. 

—  Greeks  and  Persians. 
Curteis's  Rise  of  the  Macedonian 

Empire. 


Ihne's  Rome  to  its  Capture  by  tha 

Gauls. 
Merivale's  Roman  Triumvirstes. 
Sankey's  Spartan  and  Theban  Supre- 

mades. 
Smith's  Rome  and  CSarthage^  the 

Punic  Wars. 


Bpodhs  of  Modem  History.    Edited  by  C.  Ck>lbeck,  MJL    With  Maps.  Fcp.  870. 

2s.  M.  each. 


Church's  Beginning  of  the  Middle 

Ages. 
Cox's  Crusades. 
Craighton's  Age  of  EUsabeth. 
Gairdner's  Houses  of  Tjancaster 

and  York. 
Gardiner's  Puritan  Revolution. 

—  Thirty  Years'  War. 

—  (Mrs.)  French  Revolution, 

1789-17W. 
Bale's  Fall  of  the  Stuarts. 
Johnson's  Kormans  in  Europe. 


Longman's  Frederick  the  Great  and 
the  Seven  Years'  War. 

Ludlow's  War  of  American  Inde- 
pendence. 

H'Carthy*8  Epoch  of  Reform,  1890- 
1850. 

Moberly's  The  Early  Tudors. 

Morris's  Age  of  Queen  Anne. 
—      The  Early  Hanoverians. 

Seebohm's  Protestant  Revolution. 

Stubbs's  The  Early  Plantagenets. 

Warburton's  Edward  m. 


Epochs  of   Church  History.    Edited  by  the  Rev.  Mandell  Creighton,  M.A. 

Fcp.  8vo.  price  2s.  6d,  each. 


Brodriok*s  A  History  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Oxford. 

Carr's  The  Church  and  the  Roman 
Empire. 

Hunt's  England  and  the  Papacy. 

MuUinger's  The  University  of 
Cambridge. 

Overton's  The  Evangelical  Revival 
in  tiie  Eighteenth  Century. 

Perry's     The    Reformation     in 


Plummer's  The  Church  of  the  Earlj 

Fathers. 
Stephens'     Hlldebrand     and     his 

Times. 
Tozer's  The  Church  and  the  Eastern 

Empire. 
Tucker's  The   English  Ghuxch  iat 

other  Lands. 
Wakeman's  The  Church  and  the 

Puritans.  . 


England. 

%*  Other  Volumes  in  preparatUm, 

LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


2 


General 


of  Works. 


\ 

Tneman's  mrtoiioal  Geognq>li7  of  Barope.    3  toIs.  Sto.  81«.  (kl. 

rronde's  English  in  Ireland  in  the  18th  Oentniy.    8  fds.  crown  8to.  IBs, 

—      Histtny  of  England.   Popular  Edition.  18  toIb. crown  8vo.  8«.  %i.  each. 

(}anliner'8  History  of  England  horn  the  Aooeeflfon  of  James  I.  to  the  Outbreak 

of  the  Civil  War.    10  Tolfl.  crown  8to.  80«. 

—       Historyof  the  QreatCiyii  War,  1642-1649  (3  TolB.)    YoL  1, 1642-1644, 
8to.  21*. 

OrevillflPs  Jonmal  of  the  Belgns  of  King  George  lY.,  King  WiUiam  lY.,  and 
Qoeen  Yictoria.    Cabinet  Edition.    8  toIs.  cro\rn  8to.  &i.  each.    * 

Historic  Towns.  Edited  by  E.  A.  Freeman,  D.CX.  and  the  Bey.  WiUiam  Hunt, 
ILA.    With  Maps  and  Plans.    Crown  8vo.  3«.  Qd.  each. 

Bristol.    By  the  Bey.  W.  Hunt. 
Oxford.    By  the  Eer.  0.  W.  Boase. 
Colchester.    By  the  Bey.  E.  C.  Oatts. 


London.    By  W.  E.  Loftie. 
Exeter.    By  B.<A.  Freeman. 
Cinque  Ports.     By  Montagu 
Burrows. 


Leck/s  History  of  England  in  the  Eighteenth  Century.    Yols.  1  &  3, 1700-1760, 
Svo.  36«.  Yols.  8  &  4, 1760-1 784, 8va  Z6s,    Yols.  8  &  6, 178^1793,  dOi. 

—  History  of  European  Morals.    2  yols.  crown  8yo.  16«. 

-.•  *         —     —  Rationalism  in  Europe.    2  yols.  <xowb  8yo.  16«. 
Longman's  Life  and  Times  of  Edward  III.    2  yols.  8yo.  28«. 
Maoaulay*s  Complete  Works.    Library  Edition.    8  yols.  Svo.  £6.  ft«. 

—  ^  _         Cabinet  Edition.    16  yols.  crown  8yo.  £4. 16«. 

—  History  of  England  :— 

Btodent's  Edition.  3  yols.  cr.  8yo.  12<.  I  Cabinet  Edition.  8  yols.  po-*  8yo.  4Si, 
People's  Edition.   4  yols.  cr.  8yo.  16$,  \  Library  Edition.  6  yols.  8yo.  £4. 

Macanlay's  Critical  and  Historical  Essays,  with  Lays  of  Ancient  Borne     In  One 
YoLome : — 

Authorised  Edition.    Cr.  Svo.  2i.  dd.  I  Popular  Edition.    Cr.  8yo.  2«.  Sd, 
or  9s.  Bd,  gilt  edges.  | 

Macanlay's  Critical  and  Historical  Essays : — 

Student's  Edition.   1  voLcr.  8yo.  6«.  I  Cabinet  Edition.  4  yols.  postftvo.  24f. 
People's  Edition.    2  yols.  cr.  8yo.  Ss,  \  Library  Edition.  8  yols.  8yo.  36s, 

Macanlay's  Speeches  corrected  by  Himself.    Crown  8yo.  8«.  6d, 

Malmesbuzy's  (Earl  of)  Memoirs  of  an  £z-MlnisteK.    Crown  8yo.  7s,  M, 

May's  Constitutional  History  of  England,  1760-1870.    8  yols.  crown  Svo.  18#. 

—  Democracy  in  Europe.   2  vols.  Svo.  32<. 
Meriyale's  Fall  of  the  Roman  Bepublia    12nu).  7s,  dd, 

—  Oeneral  History  of  Rome,  &c.  768-a.d.  476.    Crown  8yo.  7s,  M. 

—  History  of  the  Romans  under  the  Empire.    8  yols.  post  8yo.  48<. 
Kelson's  (Lord)  Letters  and  Despatches.  Edited  by  J.  E.  Laoghton.    8yo.  16«. 
Fears'  The  Fall  of  Constantinople.    8vo.  16s. 

Richey's  Short  History  of  the  Irish  People.    Svo.  14*. 
Salntsbury's  Manchester :  a  Short  History.    Crown  8vo.  3*.  6d, 
Beebohm's  Oxford  Reformers— Colet,  Erasmus,  &  More.    8vo.  14«. 
Short's  History  ot  the  Church  of  England.    Crown  Sva  7s.  6d. 
Smith's  Carthage  and  the  Carthaginians.    Crown  8vo.  10«.  6d, 
Taylor's  Manual  of  the  History  of  India.    Crown  Svo.  7s,  6d, 
Todd's  Parliamentary  Government  in  England  (2  vols.)    Vol.  1,  Svo.  21*. 
Tuttle's  History  of  Prussia  under  Frederick  the  Great,  1740-1766.     2  vols, 
crown  Svo.  18j. 


rr< 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


General  Lists  of  Works. 


'Vltithnm*!  St.  Fetanbnrg  and  London,  186S-1864.    8  Tob.  8to.  30f.  v   . 
Walpotora  Utstoiy  of  Sngland,  from  1815.  5  toIs.  8to.  Vols.  1  &  2, 181&-183S,  8e«« 

Vol.  3, 188S-1841, 18«.    Vols.  4  &  5, 184J-1858,  86«. 
Wylle'B  HlBtory  of  England  under  Henry  lY.    ToL  1,  erown  870. 10«.  6d, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  WORKS 

Annstrong'g  (B.  J.)  Life  and  Letters.  Bdited  by  G.  F.  Armstrong.  Fcp.  8to.  7tM, 
Bacon's  Life  and  Letters,  by  Spedding.    7  vols.  8vo.  £4.  4«. 
Bagehot's  Blogiapbical  Btadies.    1  toL  8vo.  Us, 

OarlylB'B  Life,  by  J.  A.  Tronde.    Vols.  1  &  3, 1795-1835,  8to.  88«.    Vols.  8  li  4, 
1884-1881, 8T0.Bte 
•»      (Ifrs.)  Letters  and  ICemoriala.    8  yols.  8to.  88«. 
Doyle  (Sir  F.  H.)  Beminisoeneea  and  Opinions.    8to.  16«. 

English  Worthies.    Bdited  by  Andrew  Lang.    Crown  8yo.  each  U,  eewed; 
U.8d.  cloth.   . 


Steele.    By  Austin  Bobson. 
Ben  Jonaon.    By  J.  A.  Symonds. 
George  Canning.    By  Frank  H.  Hill. 
Clarerhouse.    By  Mowbray  Morris. 


Charles  Darwin.   By  Grant  Allen. 
Shaftesbury  (The  First  Earl).    By 

H.  D.  TraQl. 
Admiral  Blake.  By  Dayid  Hannay. 
Marlborough.  By  Geo.  Saintsbury. 

Fox  (Charles  James)  The  Early  History  of.  By  Sir  G.  O.  Trevelyan,  Bart. 
Crown  870.  6«. 

Froade's  Caesar :  a  Sketch.    Crown  87o.  ts, 

Hamilton's  (Sir  W.  B.)  Life,  by  Gra7e8.    Yols.  I  and  S,  870.  ISs.  ea6h. 

HaTslook's  Life,  by  Marshman.    Crown  870. 3«.  Sd, 

Jenkin*s  (Fleeming)  Papers,  Literary,  Scientific,  Ao.  With  Memoir  by  B.  L. 
Ste7enson.    3  vols.  870. 82«. 

Laughton*s  Studies  in  Ka7al  History.    870. 10s,  64. 

Maoaulay's  (Lord)  Life  and  Letters.  By  his  Nephew,  Sir  G.  0.  Tnrelyan,  Bart. 
Popular  Edition,  1  70I.  crown  870.  6s»  Cabinet  Edition,  8  7oIs.  post 
870. 13i.    Libraiy  Edition,  3  7ols.  870. 36«. 

Mendelssohn's  Letters.    Translated  by  Lady  Wallace.    3  70ls.  cr.  870. 5«.  eaohu 

Mttller's  (Max)  Biographical  Essays.    Crown  870.  7s,  6<2. 

Newman's  Apologia  pro  YltA  SuA.    Crown  870. 6«. 

Pasteur  (Louis)  His  Life  and  Labours.'    Crown  870.  7s,  9d, 

Shakespeare's  Life  (Outlines  of),  by  Halliwell-PhilUpps.  3  70ls.  royal  870.  lOi.  Sd. 

Bonth^y's  Correspondence  with  Caroline  Bowles.    870. 14«. 

Stephen's  Essays  In  Ecclesiastical  Biography.    Crown  870.  7s.  9d, 

Taylor's  (Sir  Henry)  Correspondence.    870. 16s, 

Wellington's  Life,  by  Gleig.    Crown  870. 6«. 

MENTAL  AND    POLITICAL  PHILOSOPHY,    FINANCE,    &0. 

Adam's  Public  Debts ;  an  Essay  on  the  Science  of  Finance.    870.  I2j.  Qd, 
Ames's  Yiew  of  the  Science  of  Jurisprudence.    870.  18jl 

—  Primer  of  the  English  Constitution.    Crown  870.  Bs, 
Bacon's  Essays,  with  Annotations  by  Whately.    870. 10s,  Od, 

—  Works,  edited  by  Spedding.    7  7oIs.-87o.  7Zs,  $d, 
Bagehot's  Economic  Studies,  edited  by  Hutton.    870. 10s,  Gi. 

—      The  Postulates  of  English  Political  Economy.   Crown  870.  Si.  6A 


LONGMANS,  GBEEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


'4  General  Lists  of  Works. 


Bain*B  Logio,  DedoctlTe  and  IndootlTe.   Grown  Sra  lOi.  64. 

Fabt  L  Deduction,  U,        |        Pabt  IL  IndooUon,  6«,  M. 

—  Mental  and  Moral  Science.    Grown  8to.  10*.  M, 

—  The  Benaes  and  the  Intellect.    Syo.  15m. 

_    The  BmotlonB  and  the  WilL    8to.  l&t,  f 

Cxosier*8  Ciyilisation  and  Frogren.    8to.  5m. 

Gmmp*!  Short  Hnqnixy  into  the  Formation  of  English  Folitical  Opinloo.  Sro.  7t.6d.. 

Dowell*B  A  History  of  Ttocation  and  Taxes  in  England.    8yo.  Vols.  1  &  S,  Sl«. 
Vols.  8  &  4,  2U. 

Green's  (Thomas  Hill)  Works.  (8  yols.)  Vols.  1^2,  Fhilosophical  Worki.  Sro. 
16«.  each. 

Home's  Essays,  edited  by  Green  &  Groee.    8  toIs.  8to.  38«. 

—  Treatise  of  Human  Katore,  edited  by  Green  A  Grose.    S  Tohu  8yo.  88i. 
Eirknp's  A^  Enquiry  into  Socialism.    Grown  870.  5m, 

Ladd's  Elements  of  Physiological  F^ychology.    8to.  31j. 

lAng's  Custom  and  Mytii:  Studies  of  Early  Usage  and  BeUef.    Grown  8T0. 7«.  6d« 

—  Myth,  Bitoal,  and  Religion.    3  toIs.  crown  8to.  21«. 

Leslie's  Essays  in  Political  and  Moral  Philosophy.    8vo.  10m,  6d. 

Xiewes's  History  of  Philosophy.    8  vols.  8yo.  8S«. 

Lubbock's  Orl|^  of  Oiyilisation.    8ro.  18<. 

Madeod's  The  Elements  of  Economics.    (8  vols.)  Vol.  1,  cr.  Sra  7s.  €d.  YoL  8, 

Part  I.  or.  Sto.  7m,  M, 

—  The  Elements  of  Banking.    Grown  Sto.  5m, 

—  The  Theory  and  Practice  of  Banking.    Vol.  1,  8Ta  18«.  YoL  8, 14s. 
Max  MtUler's  The  Science  of  Thought.    8to.  21m. 

Mill's  (James)  Analysis  of  the  Phenomena  of  the  Human  Mind.  8  rols.  8to.  88s. 
Mill  (John  Stuart)  on  Bepres^oitatiTe  Government.    Grown  8vo.  8«. 

—  —  on  Liberty.    Crown  Svo.  Is.  id. 

—  —  Examination  of  Hamilton's  Philosophy.    8to.  I81. 

—  —  Logic.    Crown  Svo.  6m, 

—  —  Principles  of  Political  Economy.    8  yoIb.  8?o.  80i.    People's 

Edition,  1  Tol.  crown  8to.  5m, 

i—  —  Utilitarianism.    8vo.  5m, 

—  —  Three  Essays  on  Religion,  ko.    Svo.  6s. 
Mulhall's  History  of  Prices  since  1850.    Crown  8yo.  Bm, 
Bandan's  Listitutes  of  Justinian,  with  English  Notes.    8to.  18#. 
Beebohm's  English  YUlage  Cozomunity.    8to.  16s. 

Bully's  Outlines  of  Psychology.    Svo.  12m.  Bd, 

—  Teacher's  Handbook  of  Psychology.    Crown  8vo.  dM,  9d, 
Swinburne's  Picture  Logic    Post  8to.  6m, 

Thompson's  A  System  of  Psychology.    S  vols.  Svo.  86s. 

—  The  Problem  of  Evil.    Svo.  10«.  6d. 

—  The  Religious  Sentiments  of  the  Human  Mind.    Svo.  7m,  6d* 
Thomson's  Outline  of  Necessary  Laws  of  Thought.    Crown  Sto.  6s. 
Twiss's  Law  of  Nations  in  Time  of  War.    Svo.  21m. 

—  —  in  Time  of  Peace.    Svo.  16s. 
Webb's  The  Yeil  of  Lris.    Svo.  10s.  6d. 
Whately's  Etemente  of  Logio.    Grown  Svo.  4s.  Sd, 

—  —      —  Rbetoric    Crown  Svo.  4m.  5d, 
WyUe's  Labour,  Leisure,  and  Luxury.    Crown  Svo.  6s. 

ZeUer's  History  of  Eclecticism  in  Greek  Philosophy.    Grown  Svo.  10c.  6dL 
—      Plattf  and  the  Older  Aoademy.   Crown  Svo.  ISi. 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  London^and  New  York. 


[eaoh. 


U6d, 


Zeller*!  Pre-Socratio  Sohools.    S  vols,  orown  8to.  8Q«. 

—  BoonteB  and  the  Sooratio  Sohooli.    Orown  8to.  lOi.  64. 

—  Btoifli,  Bpteareans,  and  Sceptical    Orown  8vo.  16«.. 

—  OatUnM  of  the  Hiftory  of  Qreek  Fhiloaophy.    Crown  8to.  10«.  6d. 

MISCELLANEOUS  WOTlKS. 
JL  K.  H.  B.,  The  Enaya  and  Contritmtions  oL    Orown  8to. 
Antomn  Holidays  of  a  Ooantry  Parson.    Z$.  Bd, 
Ohanged  Aspects  of  Unchanged  Traths.    Z*.  6d, 
Oommon-Flace  Philosopher  in  Town  and  Country,    8«.  td. 
Critical  Essays  of  a  Country  Parson.    3s,  id, 
Ooonsel  and  Comfort  spoken  from  a  City  Pulpit,    ts.  6<f. 
GraYer  Thoughts  of  a  Country  Parson.    Three  Series.    3«.  id,  eaolb 
Landscapes,  Churches,  and  MoralitieB.    fti.  6d, 
Leisure  Biours  in  Town.    Zs.  Bd,    Lessons  of  Middle  Age.    Z*.  64. 
Our  Hpmely  Comedy ;  and  Tragedy.    8«.  64. 
Our  Little  Life.    Basays  Consolatory  and  Doms^tio.  Two  Series. 
Present-day  Thoughts.    8i.  64. 

Beoreatftons  of  a  Country  Parson.    Three  Series.    8«.  64L  each. 
Seaside  Musings  on  Sundays  and  Week-Days.    8«.  64. 
Sunday  Afternoons  in  the  Parish  Churoh  of  a  TTniversity  City. 

Armstrong's  (Bd.  J.)  Essays  and  Sketches.    Fcp.  Svo.  5s, 

Arnold's  (Dr.  Thomas)  Miscellaneous  Works.    8to.  7s.  64. 

Bagehot's  Literary  Studies,  edited  by  Hutton.    S  vols.  8vo.  28f. 

Beaoonsfleld  (Lord),  The  Wit  and  Wisdom  of.  Crown  8to.  Is.  boards ;  1«.  64.  ol. 

Varrar's  Language  and  Languages.    Crown  8yo.  6s. 

Fronde's  Short  Studies  on  Great  Subjects.    4  toIs.  crown  8to.  2is, 

Huth's  The  Marriage  of  Near  Kin.    Royal  Bro.  2ls, 

lAng's  Letters  to  Dead  Authors.    Fop.  Sro.  6«.  64.    / 

—     Books  and  Bookmen.    Crown  8vo.  6s.  64. 
Maoaulay's  Miscellaneous  Writings.    2  vols.  Svo.  21«.    1  toI.  crown  8to.  U,  64. 

—  Miscellaneous  Writings  and  Speeches.    Crown  Sto.  6;. 

—  Miscellaneous  Writings,   Speeches,    Lays  of  Ancient  Bome^  dso. 

Cabinet  Edition.    4  vols,  crown  8yo.  iU, 

—  Writings,  Selections  from.    Crown  Svo.  6s, 

Max  MtHler's  Lectures  on  the  Science  of  Language.    3  toIs.  crown  8to.  16«. 

—  —■     Lectures  on  India.    8vo.  12*.  B4. 

—  —      Biographies  of  Words  and  the  Home  of  the  Aiyas.   Crown  8to.7«.64. 
Oliver's  Astronomy  for  Amateurs.    Crown  Svo.  7s,  64. 

Proctor's  Chance  and  Luck.    Crown  Svo.  5s. 

Smith  (Sydney)  The  Wit  and  Wisdom  of.  Crown  Svo.  Is.  boards ;  Is,  64.  doth. 

ASTRONOMY. 

Herschel's  Outlines  of  Astronomy.    Square  crown  Svo.  12s, 
Proctor's  Larger  Star  Atlas.    Folio,  15s.  or  Maps  only,  12s,  64. 

—  New  Star  Atlas.    Orown  Svo.  5s. 

—  Light  Seience  for  Leisure  Hours.    8  Series.    Crown  Svo.  5s,  each. 

—  The  Moon.    Orown  Svo.  6s. 

—  Other  Worlds  than  Ours.    Crown  Svo.  5s,  ^   '^ 

—  Studies  of  Venus-Transits.    Svo.  6«. 

—  Orbs  Around  Us.   Crown  Svo.  5*. 

—  TTniverse  of  Stars.    Svo.  10s.  64. 

—  Old  and  New  Astronomy.     12  Parts.    2s.  64.  each. 

publication.) 
Webb's  Celestial  Objects  for  Common  Telescopes.    Crown  Svo.  9j« 


(In  course  of 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


General  Liflts  of  Works. 


THE   'KNOWLEDGE'    LIBRARY. 
Edited  by  Biohabd  A.  Pboctob. 


How  to  Flay  Whist    Ciown  8to.  fit. 
Home  WMst.    16mo.  U, 
The  Poetry  of  Astronomy.    Cr.  8to.  Bs, 
Katnre  Studies.    Grown  8vOf6«. 
Leisnre  Readings.    Crown  8to.  8«. 
The  Stars  in  their  S^susons.  Imp.  8vo.  6t. 
Myths   and   Marvels   of    Astronomy. 
Crown  8vo.  6«. 


.Pleasant  Ways  in  Science.  Or.  8to.6«. 
Star  Primer.  Crown  4to.  8«.  6d. 
Tlie  Seasons  Pictured.  Demy  4to.  5«. 
Strength  and  Happiness.  Cr.  8yo.  Bs. 
RoughWays  made  Smooth.  Cr.8vo.6«. 
The  Expanse  of  Heaven.  Cr.  8yo.  5«. 
Our  Place  among  Infinities.  Cr.8vo.6«. 
The  Great  Pyramid.    Cr.  8vo.  6*. 


CLASSICAL    LANGUAGES   AND    LITERATURE. 

Aschylns,  The  Eumenides  of.     Text,  with  Metrical  English  Translation,  by 
J.  F.  Davies.    8vo.  7s, 

Aristophanes'  The  A9hamian8,  translated  by  H.  Y.  Tyrrell.    Crown  8vo.  8«.  6J. 

Aristotle's  The  Ethics,  Text  and  Notes,  by  Sir  Alex.  Grant,  Bart.  2  vols.  Svo.  d9«. 

—  The  Kicomachean  Bthits,  translated  by  Williams,  crown  Svo.  7«.  6d. 

—  The  Politics,  Boolcs  I.  IIL  IV.  (VII.)  with  Translation,  &a  by 

BoUand  a^  Lang.    Crown  Svo.  7t.  M, 

Becker's  Charides  and  OalltUy  by  Metcalfe.    Poet  Svo.  It.  ed,  each. 

Cicero's  Ccnrrespondence,  Text  and  Notes,  by  B.  Y.  Tyrrell.    Vols.  1  ft  3,  8to. 
ISt.  each. 

MahaiCy's  Classical  Greek  Literature.    Crown  8to.    VoL  1,  The  Poets,  7«.  td, 
VoL  2,  The  Prose  Writers,  7s.  6d. 

FlAto's  Parmenides,  with  Notes,  &g.  by  J.  Magnire.    8vo.  7s,  6d. 

Virgil's  Works,  Latin  Text,  with  Commentary,  by  Kennedy.   Crown  Svo.  10s.  M, 

—  iBneid,  translated  into  English  Verse,  by  Conington.      Grown  8vo.  9s, 

—  "  —  —  —       —         —     byW.J.Thprnhill.  Cr.8vo.7*.6<f. 

—  Poems,        —  — .       —     Prose,  by  Conington.     Crown  8to.  An 
Witt's  Myths  of  Hellas,  translated  by  F.  M.  Yoiinghusband.    Crown  Svo.  9$,  M. 

—  The  Trojan  "^ar,  —  —  Pep.  Svo.  2*. 

—  The  Wanderings  of  Ulysses,  . —  Crown  Svo.  8«.  6dL 

NATURAL    HISTORY,    BOTANY,    8c    GARDENING. 

Dixon's  Bnral  Bird  Life.    Crown  Svo.  Illustrations,  5s, 
Hartwig's  Aerial  World,  Svo.  IQs,  6d, 

—  Polar  World,  Svo.  lOs,  6d, 

—  Sea  and  its  Living  Wonders.    Svo.  10s,  M, 

—  Subterranean  World,  Svo.  10s.  Gd, 

—  Tropical  World,  Svo.  10s.  6d. 
Lindley's  Treasury  of  Botany.    2  vols.  fcp.  Svo.  12s, 
Loudon's  Encyclopaedia  of  Gardening.    Svo.  21«. 

~  —  Plants.    Svo.  42«. 

Eivers's  Orchard  House.    Crown  Svo.'  5*. 

—  '   Miniature  Fruit  Garden.    Fcp.  Svo.  4s. 
Stanley's  Familiar  History  of  British  Birds.    Crown  Svo.  ««. 
Wood's  Bible  Animals.    With  11 2  Vignettes.    Svo.  10*.  6d, 

—  Homes  Without  Hands,  Svo.  10s,  6d, 

—  Insects  Abroad,  Svo.  10s,  Od, 

—  Horse  and  Man.    Svo.  14s. 

—  Insects  at  Home.    With  700  Illastrations.    Svo.  10*.  9d, 


LONaMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


General  Lists  of  Works. 


Wood's  Ont of  Doon.    Crown8vo.6«. 

—  Petland  Beyiaited.    Grown  8vo.  7/.  6dL 

—  Strange  Dwellings.    Grown  8vo.5«.    Popular  Bditlon,  4to.  6<l. 

CHEMISTRY    ENGINEERING,  &  GENERAL  SCIENCE. 

Amotf  8  Blements  of  Physics  or  Natural  Philosophy.    Grown  8yo.  124. 6d. 

Barrett's  English  Glees  and  Part-Songs :    their    Historioal    Deyelopment. 
Grown  8yo.  7«.  6d. 

Bourne's  Gatechism  of  the  Steam  Engine.    Crown  8yo.  It.  6(2. 

—  Handbook  of  the  Steam  Engine.    Fcp.  8yo.  9», 

—  Beoeut  Improyements  in  the  Steam  Engine.    Fcp.  8yo.  is. 
Bnokton's  Cor  Dwellings,  Healthy  and  Unhealthy.    Grown  8yo.  8«.  6d. 
Clerk's  The  Gas  Engine.    With  Illastrations.    Grown  8yo.  7«.  6(L 
Clodd's  The  Story  of  Creation.    lUobtrated.    Crown  8yo.  6«. 
Crookes's  Select  Methods  in  Chemical  Analysis.    8yo.  2ii, 

Oulley's  Handbook  of  Practical  Telegraphy.    8yo.  16s. 

Fairbaim's  Usefol  Information  for  Engineers.    8  yols.  orown  8yo.  Sli.  6d. 

—        Mills  and  Hillwork.    1  yol.  Svo.  25«. 
Forbes*  Lectures  on  BlectilGity.    Grown  8yo.  5«. 

GkdlOway's  Principles  of  Chemistry  Practically  Taught.    Crown  8yo.  6«.  6d, 
Ganot's  Elementary  Treatise  on  Physics,  by  Atkinson.    large  crown  8yo.  104. 

—  Natural  Philosophy,  by  Atkinson.    Crown  8yo.  74.  Bd, 
Grore's  Correlation  of  Physical  Forces.    8yo.  16a 
Hanghton's  Six  Lectures  on  Physical  Geography'.    8yo.  104. 
Helmholtz  on  the  Sensations  of  Tone.    Boyal  Syo.  284. 

Helmholts's  Lectures  on  Scientifio  Subjects.    2  yols.  crown  8yo.  74.  M,  each. 

Hudson  and  Go^'s  The  Botifera  or  *  Wheel  Animalcules.'    With  30  Coloured 
Plates.    6  parts.  4to.  IO4.  Bd,  each.    Complete,  2  yols.  4to.  £3.  IO4. 

Hullah's  Lectures  on  the  History  of  Modern  Music.    8yo.  84.  6d. 

—  Transition  Period  of  Musical  History.    8yo.  IO4.  6<l. 
Jackson's  Aid  to  Engineering  Solution.    Royal  8yo.  2l4. 

Jago's  Inorganic  Chemistry,  Theoretical  and  Practical.    Fcp.  8yo.  24.  Bd, 
Kolbe's  Short  Text-Book  of  Inorganic  Chemistry.    Crown  8yo.  74.  Sd. 
Lloyd's  Treatise  on  Magnetism.    8yo.  104.  %d. 

Macalister's  Zoology  and  Morphology  of  Vertebrate  Animals.    8yo.  IO4.  Bd, 
Macf arren's  Lectures  on  Harmony.    8yo.  1 24. 

—         Addresses  and  Lectures.    Crown  Svo.  64.  6d.. 
Martin's  Nayigation  and  Nautical  Astronomy.    Bo.val  8yo.  I84. 
Meyer's  Modem  Theories  of  Chemistry.    Svo.  I84. 

Miller's  Elements  of  Chemistry,  Theoretical  and  PracticaL    8  yds.  8yo.    Part  I. 

Chemical  Physics,  I64.   Part  II.  Inorganic  Chemistry,  244.  Part  III.  Organio 

Chemistry,  prioe  814. 6d. 
Mitchell's  Manual  of  Practical  Assaying.    8yo.  3l4.  %d, 

—       Dissolution  and  Eyolution  and  the  Science  of  Medicine.    8yo.  I64. 

Noble's  Hours  with  a  Three-inch  Telescope.    Crown  8yo.  44.  6(1. 

Noithoott's  Lathes  and  Turning.    Syo.  I84. 

Owen's  Comparatiye  Anatomy  and  Physiology  of  the  Vertebrate  Animals. 
3  yols.  8yo.  734.  6d. 

Piesse's  Art  of  Perfumery.    Square  crown  8yo.  2l4. 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


8 


General  Lists  of  Works. 


Blduurdsom's  The  Health  of  Nations ;  WoikB  and  Life  of  Edwin  Ghadwick,O.B. 
S  Tob.  8yo.  iSs. 

—  The  Commonhealth ;  a  Series  of  Essays.    Crown  Svo.  6< 

ScihflOfln's  Spectrum  Analysis.    870.  81«.  6d, 

fioott*B  Weather  Charts  and  Storm  Wamiogs.    Crown  8to.  Bt, 

Bennett's  Treatise  on  the  Marine  Ste^n  Engine.    8to.  S1<. 

Smith's  AJr  and  Bain.    8to.  24i. 

Btoney's  The  Theory  of  the  Stresses  on  Girders,  fto.    Boyal  8yo.  Wt, 

TQdfan's  Practical  Chemistry.    Fop.  8yo.  Is.  Bd, 

l^ndaU's  Faraday  as  a  Discorerer.    Grown  870. 9*,  M. 

—  Floating  Matter  of  the  Air.    Crown  8yo.  7«.  M, 

—  Fragments  of  Science.   3  vols,  post  870. 16<.  ^ 

—  Heat  a  Mode  of  Motion.    Crown  8to.  12«. 

—  Lectures  on  Light  ddivered  in  America.    Grown  8to.  it, 
-«       Lessons  on  Electricity.    Crown  8to.  2t,  M, 

—  Notes  on  Electrical  Phenomena.    Crown  8yo.  1<.  sewed,  1j.  %d.  doth. 

—  Notes  of  Leotores  on*Light.    Crown  8yo.  It,  sewod,  It,  6(2.  doth. 

—  Besearches  on  Diamagnetism  and  Magne-Crystallic  Action.    Cr.  8V0. 

124. 

—  Sound,  with  Frontispiece  and  208  Woodoats.    Crown  8yo.  lOi.  64.. 
T7nwin.*s  The  Testing  of  Materials  of  Constraction.    Illustrated.    8yo.  21^ 
WatU^  DIotionary  of  Chemistry.    New  Edition  (4  toIs.).    YoL  1, 8ya  42«. 
Wilson's  Manual  of  Health-Science.    Crown  8yo.  8«.  M, 

THEOLOGICAL  AND    RELIGIOUS  WORKS. 

Arnold's  (Bey.  Dr.  Thomas)  Sermons.    6  yols.  crown  8yo.  6t,  eadu 

Boultbee's  Oommentary  on  the  89  Articles.    Crown  8yo.  6«. 

Browne's  (Bishop)  Exposition  of  the  39  Articles.    8yo.  16«. 

Bullinger's  Critical  Lexicon  and  Concordance  to  the  English  and  Greek  New 
Testament.    Boyal  8yo.  16t, 

Oolenso  on  the  Pentateuch  and  Book  of  Joshua.    Grown  8yo.  6«. 

Oonder's  Handbook  of  the  Bible.    Post  8yo.  7t,  9d, 

Oonybeare  &  Howson's  Life  and  Letters  of  St.  Paul : — 

Library  Edition,  with  Maps,  Plates,  and  Woodouts.    2  vols,  square  orown 

8yo.  21«. 
Student's  Edition,  reyised  and  condensed,  with  46  Ulnstrations  and  Maps. 

1  yol.  crown  8yo.  Bt, 

Cox's  (Homersham)  The  First  Century  of  Christianity.    8yo.  12«. 

Dayidson's  Introductioh  to  the  Study  of  the  New  Testament.    2  yols.  8yo.  80i. 

Bdersheim's  Life  and  Times  of  Jesus  the  Messiah.    2  yols.  8yo.  Sis, 

—  Prophecy  and  History  in  relation  to  the  Messiah.    8yo.  124. 
EUicott^s  (Bishop)  Commentary  on  St.  Paul's  Episties.   8yo.   Corinthians  1. 16«. 

Galatians,  St,  6d.  Ephesians,  St.  6d,   Pastoral  Epistles,  \0s,  6d,  Philippians, 
Ooloasians  and  Philemon,  lOt.  6d,    Thessaloniaus,  7t.  Bd, 

—  Lectures  on  the  Life  of  our  Lord.    8yo.  12j. 

Bwald's  Antiquities  of  Israel,  translated  by  Solly.    8yo.  12t,  Sd. 

—  History  of  Israel,  translated  by  Carpenter  &  Smith.    8  yols.  8yo.  Yoli. 

1  &  2,  24«.   Vols.  8  &  4,  2lt,  Yol.  6,  18«.    Vol.  6,  16«.   YoL  7,  2U 
Yol.  8, 18*. 

Hobart's  Medical  Language  of  St.  Luke.    8ya  16<. 

Hopkins's  Christ  the  Consoler.    Fcp.  8yo.  St,  M, 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


General  Idsts  of  Works. 


JuneBon'B  Soored  and  Legendary  Art.    6  toIb.  square  8vo« 
Legendi  of  the  Madonna.    1  yoL  Sl«. 

—  —    —    Konastio  Orders    1  vol.  21<. 

—  —   — -    Saints  and  Martyrs.    S  Tola.  81«.  M. 

—  —   —    BaTionr.    Completed  by  Lady  Eastlake.    2yol8.4S«. 
JuIdbb'b  New  ICan  and  the  Eternal  Life.    Grown  8to.  6«. 

—  Second  Death  and  the  Bestitntion  of  all  Things.    Crown  Svo.  8«.  64. 

—  Types  of  Gtenesls.    Crown  Bro.  7«.  6d.  ^ 

—  The  Mystery  of  the  Kingdom.    Crown  Sto.  8j.  6<f . 

—  The  Karnes  of  God  in  Holy  Scripture.    Crown  8vo.  4«.  Gd. 
Lenonsant's  New  Translation  of  the  Book  of  Genesis.  Translated  into  English. 

Sto.  lOf .  94, 
I^ra  GennaHlca :  Hymns  translated  by  Miss  Winkworth.    Fop.  8to.  Si. 
Maodonald's  (G.)  Unspoken  Sermons.    Two  Series,  Crown  8yo.  Zs,  64.  each. 

—        .    The  Miradef  of  our  Lord.    Crown  8yo.  3^.  64. 
Manning's  Temporal  Mission  of  the  Holy  Ghost    Crown  8vo.  8«.  64. 
Martinean's  BndeaTours  after  the  Christian  Life.    Crown  8yo.  7«.  64.  ^ 

—  Hymns  of  Praise  tfnd  Prayer.    Crown  8yo.  U.  64.    33mo.  17. 64. 

—  Sermons,  Hours  of  Thought  on  Sacred  Things.    2  yols.  7«.  64.  each. 
Max  MtOler's  Origin  and  Growth  of  Beligion.    Crown  8yo.  7s.  64. 

—  —      Science  of  Beligion.    Crown  8yo.  It.  64. 

MonseU's  Spiritual  Songs  for  Sundays  and  Holidays.    Fop.  8yo.  5i.    18mo.  2i. 
Kewman's  Apologia  pro  VitA  Su&.    Crown  8yo.  6«. 

—  The  Arians  of  the  Fourth  Century.    Crown  8yo.  6«. 

—  The  Idea  of  a  Uniyersity  Defined  and  Illustrated.    Crown  8yo.  7«. 

—  Historical  Sketches.    3  yols.  crown  8yo.  6«.  each. 

—  Diecossions  and  Ailments  on  Various  Subjects.    Crown  8vo.  6«. 

—  An  Essay  on  the  Deyelopment  of  Christian  Doctrine.    Crown  8yo.  6<. 
«       Certain  Difficultly  Felt  by  Anglicans  in  Catholic  Teaching  Con- 
sidered.   VoL  1,  crown  8yo.  7*.  64.    VoL  2,  crow^  8yo.  6<.  64. 

—  The  Via  Media  of  the  Anglican  Church,  Illustrated  in  Lectures,  &o. 

2  yols.  crown  8yo.  6<.  each. 

—  Bsaays,  Critical  and  Historical.    3  yols.  crown  8yo.  I2t. 

—  Essays  on  Biblical  and  on  Ecclesiastical  Mirades.    Crown  8yo.  6«. 

—  An  Essay  in  Aid  of  a  Grammar  of  Assent.    7s.  64. 

—  Select  Treatises  of  St.  Athanasius  in  Controywqr  with  the  Ariaus. 

Translated.    2  yols.  crown  8yo.  16s. 
Oyerton*s  Life  in  the  English  Church  (1660-1714).    8yo.  14«. 
Boberts'  Greek  the  Language  of  Christ  and  His  Apostles.    8yo.  IBs. 
Supernatural  Beligion.    Complete  Edition.    8  yols.  8yo.  86«. 
Younghusband's  The  Story  of  Our  Lord  told  tn  Simple  Language  for  Children. 
Illustrated.    Crown  8yo.  2s.  64.  cloth  plain ;  Zs.  64.  cloth  extra,  gilt  edges. 

TRAVELS,   ADVENTURES,    &c. 

Baker's  Eight  Years  in  Ceylon.    Crown  8yo.  6s. 

—  Bifle  and  Hound  in  Ceylon.    Crown  8yo.  6s. 

Braasey's  Sunshine  and  Storm  {n  the  Bast.    Library  Edition,  8yo.  21s,    Cabinet 
Edition,  crown  8yo.  7s.  64.    Popular  Edition,  4to.  64. 


LONGMANS,  GEEEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


10 


General  lists  of  Works. 


Brasgey'B  Voyage  in  the  *  Simbeam.'   Library  Edition,  8vo.  2U.  Cabinet  Edition, 
crown  8to.  7s,  Bd,    School  Bdition,  fcp.  8vo.  2*.    Popotor  Edition, 
€bo.  6d. 
—        In  the  Trades,  the  Tropics,  and  the  <  Bearing  Forties.'  Cabinet  Edition, 
orown  Svo.  17 i,  id.    Popular  Edition,  4  to.  6d. 

Crawford's  Beminiscenoes  of  Foreign  Trayel.    Crown  Svo.  5<. 

Fronde's  Oceana ;  or,  England  and  .her  Colonies.   Cr.  8  vo.  2s,  boards ;  3«.  6(1.  cloth. 
— .     The  English  iu  the  West  ludles.    8ro.  ISs. 

Howitt's  Visits  to  Bemarkable Places.    Crown  8to.  5«. 

James's  The  Long  White  Mountain  ;  or,  a  Jonmey  in  Manchuria.    8to.  2is, 

Lindt's  Picturesque  New  Guinea.    4to.  42s. 

Pennell's  Our  Sentimental  Journey  through  France  and  Italy..  Illnstrated. 
Crown  Svo.  6s. 

Biley's  Athos ;  or,  The  Mountain  of  the  Monks.    8Vo.  21«. 

Three  in  Norway.  By  Two  of  Them.  Illustrated.  Grown  Svo.  2s.  boards ; 
3s.  6(2.  (doth. 

WORKS    OF    FICTION. 

Anstey'9#he  Black  Poodle,  &c.    Crown  Svo.  2s.  boards  ;  2s.  6d.  cloth. 

Beaoonsfield's  (The  Earl  of)  Novels  and  Tales.  Hughenden  Edition,  with  S 
Portraits  on  Steel  and  11  Vignettes  on  Wood.  11  vols,  crown  Svo.  £S.  2s, 
Cheap  Edition,  11  vols,  crown  Svo.  Is.  each,  boards ;  Is,  Qd,  each,  cloth. 


Contarini  Fleming. 
Alroy,  Ixion,  inc. 
The  Young  Dnke,  &c 
Vivian  Grey. 
Bndymion. 


Lothair. 

Byba 

Ooningsby. 

Tancred. 

Venetia. 

Henrietta  Temple. 

Gilkes'  Boys  and  Masters.    Crown  Svo.  Zs,  6d, 

Haggard's  (H.  Eider)  She:  a  History  of  Adventure.    Crown  Svo.  6«. 

—  —         Allan  Quatermaln.    Illnstrated.    Crown  Svo.  Bs, 

Harte  (Bret)  On  the  Frontier.    Three  Stories.    16mo.  Is, 

—  —      By  Shore  and  Sedge.    Three  Stories.    16mo.  Is, 

—  —     In  the  Carqnines  Woods.    Crown  Svo.  Is,  boards  ;  Is.  6d.  cloth. 
Lyall's  (Edna)  The  Autobiography  of  a  Slander.    Fcp.  Is,  sewed. 

Melville's  (Whyte)  Novels.    8  vols.  fcp.  Svo.  Is,  each,  boards ;  Is.  ed,  each,  cloth. 


Good  for  Nothing. 
Holmby  House. 
The  Interpreter. 
The  Queen's  Maries. 

Crown  Svo.  2s,  6d. 


Crown 


Digby  Grand. 
General  Bounce. 
Kate  Coventry. 
The  Gladiators. 

Molesworth's  (Mrs.)  Marrying  and  Giving  in  Marriage. 

Novels  by  the  Author  of  <  The  Atelier  dn  Lys ' : 

The  Atelier  du  Lys ;  or.  An  Art  Student  in  the  Beign  of  Terror. 
Svo.  2s.  Bd. 

Mademoiselle  Mori:  a  Tale  of  Modem  Borne.    Crown  Svo.  2s.  6(2. 

In  the  Olden  Time :  a  Tale  of  the  Peasant  War  in  Germany.  Crown  Svo.  2s,  6d, 

Hester's  Venture.    Crown  Svo.  2s.  ed, 

Oliphant's  (Mrs.)  Madam.    Crown  Svo.  Is.  boards ;  Is.  6d.  cloth. 

—  —     In  Trust :  the  Story  of  a  Lady  and  her  Lover.    Crown  Svo. 

14.  boards ;  Is.  6d.  cloth. 

Payn's  (James)  The  Luck  of  theBarrells.    Crown  8vo.  Is,  boards ;  Is.  dd.  cloth. 

—  —       Thicker  than  Water.    Crown  Svo.  Is,  boards ;  Is,  6d.  cloth. 

Beader's  Fairy  Prince  Follow- my-Lead.    Crown  Svo.  2s,  6d. 

—  The  Ghost  of  Brankiashat^ ;  and  other  Talcs.    Fcp.  Svo.  2s,  6d, 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


Bewell'i  (MiM)  Stories  and  Tal«g.    Crown  Svo.  1«.  each,  boards;  1$,  Bd,  cloth ; 
it.  64.  doth  extra,  gilt  edges. 

Amy  Herbert.    Cleve  HaU.  A  Glimpse  of  the  World. 

The  Barl's  Daughter.  Katharine  Ashton. 

BzpeMence  of  life.  Laneton  Parsonage. 

Qertmde.    iTors.  Mai^aret  PercivaL       Ursnla. 

Btevenion'B  (B.  L.)  The  Dynamiter.    Fop.  8to.  U.  sewed ;  It.  6<f.  cloth. 

—  —      Btrange  Case  of  Dr.  JekyU  and  Mr.  Hyde.    Fcp.  8to.  U, 

sewed  ;  U»  M.  doth. 

^ftoUope'i  (Anthony)  Korels.    Fcp.  8yo.  U.  each,  boards ;  U.  6d,  cloth. 
The  Warden  |        Barchester  Towers. 

POETRY   AND   THE    DRAMA. 
Armstrong's  (Ed.  J.)  Poetical  Works.    Fcp.  8yo.  6«. 
—  (G.  F.)  PoeWcal  Works  :— 

Poems,  Lyrical  and  Dramatic.  Fcp. 

8vo. «. 
TTgone :  a  Tragedy.    Fcp.  8to.  6«. 


Stories  of  WicUow.    Fcp.  Svo.  9s,, 
Ifephlstopbelfls  in  Broadcloth :  a 

Satire.    Fcp.  Svo.  4s. 
Victoria  Regina  et  Imperatrix  :  a 

Jubilee  Song  from  Irdand,  1887. 

4to.  Si.  M, 


Fcp.  8vo.  8*. 

Fcp.  870.  2s.  6<Z. ;  or  printed  on 


A  (Garland  from  Greece.  Fq;>.  8yo.9«. 
King  SaoL    Fop.  8to.  («. 
King  DaTid.  Fcp.  8yo.  6«. 
King  Solomon.    Fcp.  8vo.  Bs. 

Ballads  of  Berks.    Edited  by  Andrew  Lang. 

Bowen's  Harrow  Songs  and  other  Verses. 
hand-made  paper,  6s. 

Bowdler's  Family  Shakespeare.    Mediom  8yo.  14s.    6  vols.  fbp.  8to.  81«. 

Dante's  Divine  Oomedy,  translated  by  Jamee  Innes  Minchin.    Grown  8vo.  16«. 

Goethe's  Faust,  translated  by  Birds.    Large  crown  8yo.  12«.  6d. 

-*        —     tnuislated  by  Webb.    8yo.  12s.  Sd. 

—  —     edited  by  Sdss.    Crown  8vo.  6s. 
Ingdow's  Poems.    2  Vols.  fcp.  8vo.  12s. ;  Vol.  3,  fcp.  8vo.  6s. 

—  Lyrical  and  other  Poems.    Fcp.  870.  2s.  Bd.  doth,  plain ;  Zs.  cloth, 

gilt  edges. 
Kendall's  (Mrs.)  Dreams  to  SelL    Fcp.  8vo.  Us, 

Macanlay'l  iJiys  of  Andent  Rome.     Illustrated  by  Soharf.     ito.  10«.  6d. 
Popular  Edition,  fcp.  4to.  6d.  swd.,  1^.  doth. 

—  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome,  with  Ivry  and  the  Armada.    Hlustrated  by 
Wegnelin.    Grown  8vo.  Zs.  Bd.  gilt  edges. 

Nesbit's  Lays  and  Legends.    Grown  870.  6s. 

Newman's  The  Dream  of  Gerontins.    16mo.  6^.  sewed ;  Is.  doth. 

—  Verses  on  Various  Occasions.    Fcp.  870.  6s. 

Reader's  Vdcee  from  Flowerland,  a  Birthday  Book,  2s.  Bd,  doth,  Bs.  Bd.  roan. 
Bouthey's  Poetical  Works.    Medium  8vo.  14.9. 
Stevenson's  A  Child's  Garden  of  Verses.    Fcp.  8vo.  6s. 
Virgil's  .findd,  translated  by  Conington.    Crown  870. 9s. 
_     Poems,  translated  into  English  Prose.    Crown  8vo.  9s. 

AGRICULTURE,    HORSES,    DOGS,    AND   CATTLE. 

Fitvwygram's  Horses  and  Stables.    8yo.  6s. 
IJoyd's  The  Bdenoe  of  Agriculture.    8vo.  12s. 
Loudon's  Encydopesdia  of  A^cnlture.    21«. 

Prothero's  Pioneers  and  Progress  of  English  Farming.  .Crown  870.  54. 
Steel's  DiseaMS  of  the  Ox.  a  Manual  of  Bo7ine  Pathology.    870.  lbs. 
—         —       —        Dog.    870. 10*.  Bd. 


LONGMANS,  GREEN,  k  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


Qenentl  Lutt  of  Works. 


How.    Sto.  r>.  M. 

SPORTS   AND    PASTIMES. 

Llbnry  of  Sparta  mcdPuttran.   Mltedbjtb 
mMI  A.  a.  T.  WMno.    With  nnmeniu  Illmtntloiu.    Ct.8TD.10i.td.iBDh, 

Bnntilns,  t^  Uw  Dnkt  of  Be inroit,  As. 

nBhlii^.bTH.OholiiioDde1ey'Peiu]]eU,  Ad.    1  toIl 

BMdnffi  bj  Uw  Eul  of  Buftolk,  lie. 

EUoot£ig,  br  Lord  WkUnBhuo,  bo.    1  ma. 

OroUiig.    By  Vluoiuit  Bnr;. 

AtWgUoi (nd FootbtOl.    By  MonUgnealieiinnKi.Ao. 

BoUiliig.    By  W.  B.  WDodmt8,*o. 

CrlclKt.    Br  A.  Q.BtHl.&c. 

Driying.    By  Iho  Dake  q(  Beaufort,  io. 
",•  OfAir  Folumn  in  pTrparatlim. 
Ouapbetl-Wkaar^OivreotCiinl.orHowCoPlBy&t  WliM.    Fcp.  Sto.  It.  C<L 
Tonfi  Theorr  uid  PruUfla  ol  Anh(r]f,  icrlied  by  W.  Butt.    Bid,  14(. 
TtMIDl*'!  TnatlH  on  Plihliig  hi  lUlU  BtuiiJH,    PouSto,  lb. 
Iioagnun'i  Obni  Opmlnii.    Fop,  Sto.  b.  U. 

Peu^i  Tlia  OleTdMid  Haanda  H  >  Tiencbei-I'f  d  Pack.    Royal  Sto.  1S>. 
PolsViThootyoltheUadnnSdaitiScasiiieol  Whin.    Vop.  Bra.  >!.  M. 
Prootor't  How  to  Flay  Whin.    Grown  Sto.  Si. 
SoDiMfi  Tly.ndiar'i  Kntomoloey.    Bro.  Ui. 
WDoookl^Bok-PUisDuii.    Poat  8to.  <ii. 

ENCYCLOP>EDIAS,    DICTIONARIES,    AND    BOOKS    OF 
REFERENCE. 
Aoton'i  Uodrfn  Gooketr  for  FilTats  Famlliea.    Fop.  Sto.  4i.  td. 
ArrtfiTuMui'ir  of  Blblo  KDOVlwlg:e.    Fcp.  Sto.  Bt. 

OaUnat  I«wy«  C^bt),  a  Popnlu  DIgHt  of  the  Iaw>  of  BnglaDd.    Fqi.  Sto.  Si. 
Oata*a  Dlottonazy  of  Ganezil  Biography.    Uedliim  Sto.  aSj. 
Owitfi  Bnofolactedlft  of  AioUMeton.    8to.  Ki.  id. 
Utb  Jobiatan'*  DkMmurj  ot  QeogiaiAT,  or  Oeneral  Oaietteer.    Sto.  Ui, 
VOolladiV  TrtffrinrmTj  of  dommercfl  and  CommorGUl  NaTlgatlon.    Sto.  SSj. 
lUuidM'i  Blogiqihkal  Tnanuy.    Fop.  Sto.  tt. 
-~        HlMoleal  Treanuy.    tc^  Sto,  It. 

—  BoltnlUlo  and  Utanj  Tratmi?.    Fop.  Bro.  *i. 

—  Tnamr  of  BIbl*  Knowledge,  edited  by  Ayra.    I'cp.  Sto.  tt. 

—  Tnuiuy  of  Botany,  sdited  by  Ucdley  &  Uoon.    Two  ParU,  111. 
"■ '  Oeograiiliy.    Fcp.  8v-  "- 


If  I[iitiwled|c  and  librsiy  of  Bef  ennea.    F^  8T0.  (a. 

at  HaCnial  Hlstorr-    Fcp-  Sto.  it. 

' lediam  Sto.  3U  Sd.,  oi  In  S  tdIl  Hi. 


;  Oookary  uid  Houukeei^ng.    Crown  8ro.  B, 
Bloh'i  notlonatT  of  Roman  and  Greek  AntlqDlUeB.    Crown  Bi 
Booat'i  Ttunnnu  a(  Xngtbh  Worda  and  Fhran.    Grown  Sto. 
Wmioh'aFopiilMTHblnibyUiurlott.    down  Std.  lOj.  Sd. 

WORKS    BY    MRS,    DE    SALIS. 

SftTonrla  &  h  Uode.    Fcp.  Sto.  li.        I  Bneets  and  Snppet  D[elia,llla  Uode. 
HntT«n  &  la  Uoda,    Pep.  Sto.  It.  M.  Fop.  Sto.  Ii.  M, 

Bonpg  and  Dnwd  FUh  i.  la  Uode.      Djiten  k  la  Moae.    Fcp,  Sro.  It.  i 
Fnp. Sto.  It,  M.  I  Vegelables  ila  Mode.   Fcp,8T0.1j 

L0HGJIAS3,  6HEEH,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


A  SELECTION 

OF 

EDUCATIONAL   WOEKS, 


TEXT-BOOKS   OF   SCIENCE. 

FULLT  ZLLUSTRATED. 

Abney's  Treatiie  on  Photography.    Fop.  8yo.  Zs,  6<2. 
Aiidflnon'B  Btrangth  of  Msteifkls.    Zt,  6cU 
AnnstaroDg'B  Organio  Ohemiitry.    8<.  6d. 
Ball*!  Blementa  o<  ABtronomy.    6i. 
Bairy*!  Ballway  AppUanoes.    Zs.  6d, 
Baaemnan'B  Qystemaiic  Mineralogy.    Ss, 
—        DeeoriptiTe  Mineralogy.   64. 
Blozam  and  Huntington's  Metals.    6«. 
Glawbrook's  Physical'Optics.    6«. 
Glaietarook  and  BhaVs  Practioal  Physics.    64. 
Qore's  Art  of  Etootro-Metallurgy.    6«. 

Griffin's  Algebra  and  Trtgonometzy.    81. 6d.    Notes  and  Solutions,  3^.  Zd, 
Holmes's  The  Steam  Sagine.    <U. 
Jenkin's  Bleotrioity  and  Magnetism.    8«.  Zd, 
Maxwell's  Theory  of  Heat.    Zs,  6<2. 

Merrifldd's  Techiiical  Azithmetio  and  Mensuration.    Zt.  Zd.    Key,  Zt,  6d. 
Miller's  Inorganic  Chemistry.    Zs.  Zd, 
Preeoe  and  SlTewright's  Telegraphy.    Zs, 
Bntley's  Study  of  Bocks,  a  Text-Book  of  Petrology.    4«.  Zd, 
Shelley's  Workshop  Appliances,   ii.  Zd. 
Thomas  Stmctuzal  and  Physiologioal  Botany.    6«. 
Thorpe's  Quantitative  Ohftmical  Analysis.    It,  Zd, 
Thorpe  and  Mnir's  Qualitatiye  Analysis.    Zt,  Zd, 

TQden's  Chemical  Philosophy.    84.  Zd,    With  Answers  to  ProUems.    4i.  Zd, 
Unwln's  Elements  of  Machine  Design.    Zt, 
Watson's  Plane  and  Solid  Geometry.    Zt,  Zd, 


THE   GREEK   LANGUAGE. 

Bloomiield's  CoU^^e  and  School  Greek  Testament.    Fop.  8yo.  Zt, 
BoUand  &  Lang's  Politics  of  Aristotle.    Post  8to.  7t.  Zd, 
OoUis's  Chief  Tenses  of  the  Greek  Irregular  Verbs.    Syo.  It, 

—  Pontes  GroBci,  Stepping-Stone  to  Greek  Grammar.    12mo.  Si.  Zd, 

—  Praxis  GroBoa,  Etymology.    12mo.  2«.  Zd, 

—  Greek  Yerse-Book,  Praxis  lambioa.    13mo.  it,  Zd, 
Fanar's  Brief  Greek  Syntax  and  Aooidenoe.    13mo.  At,  Zd, 

—  Greek  Grammar  Bules  for  Harrow  SchooL    12mo.  It,  Zd, 
Geare's  Notes  on  Thuqydides.    Book  I.    Fcp.  Bvo.  it,  Zd, 


LONGMAKS  GBEEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


14 


A  Selection  of  Educational  Works. 


Hewitt's  Greek  Ezamination-PapetB.    I3mo.  It.  6d. 

Isbister'g  Xeno]>hon'B  Anabasla,  BooIdb  I.  to  III.  with  Kotei.    Itaio.  U,  6d» 

Ee2medy*8  Greek  Grammar.    12ino.  it.  6d, 

Lidddl  &  Soott^i  BngUah-Greek  Lezioon.  4to.  ZBs. ;  Square  13mo.  7«.  dd, 

Mahafly's  Classical  Greek  literature.  Crown  8to.  Poets,  7«.  6<I.  Proas  Writers, 

7s.  60,  ^ 

Morris's  Gre<dc  Lessons.    Square  18mo.    Part  I.  2s.  64. ;  Part  IL  U. 
Parry's  Elementary  Greek  Grammar.    12mo.  Ss.  6d. 

Plato's  Bepnblic,  Book  I.  Grsek  Text,  English  Notes  by  Hardy.    Crown  Syo.  3«. 
Sheppard  and  Evans's  Notes  on  Thnoydides.    Crown  8to.  7s.  6d. 
Tbncydides,  Book  17.  with  Notes  by  Barton  and-Chavasse.    Crown  8to.  5«. 
Valpy's  Greek  Delectus,  improved  by  White.    12mo.  2s.  6d,    Key,  2s.  6d, 
White's  Xenophon's  Expedition  of  Cyrus,  with  English  Notes.    12mo.  7«.  64. 
Wilkina's  Manual  of  Greek  Prose-  Composition.    Crown  8vq.  5s,    Key,  6$, 

—  Ezerdses  in  Greek  Prose  Compoeition.   Crown  8vo.4«.6<i.    Key,2«.6d. 

—  New  Gr^k  Delectus.    Grown  8ro.  Zs.  6d.    Key,  2s.  6d, 

—  Progressive  Greek  Delectus.    13mo.  is.    Key,  2s.  6d, 

—  Progressive  Greek  Anthology.    12mo.  5s,  / 

— •       Scriptores  Attid,  Excepts  with  English  Notes.    Crown  8to.  7«.  6i. 

—  Speeches  from  Thucydides  translated.    Post  8vo.  6s, 
Yonge's  EngUsh-Greek  Lexicon.    4to.  21<. ;  Square  12mo.  Ss.  64. 


THE    LATIN    LANCHJAGE. 

Bradl^s  Latin  Prose  Exercises.    13mo.  Zs,  6d,    Key,  5s, 

—  Continuous  Lessons  in  Latin  Prose.   12mo.  5s.    Key,  5s,  6d. 

—  Cornelius  Nepos,  improved  by  White.    12mo.  Ss.  6d, 

—  Eutropius,  Improved  by  White.    12mo.  2s.  6d. 

—  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  improved  by  White.    12mo.  4c.  6d, 

—  Select  Fables  of  Phaadms,  improved  by  White.    12mo.  2s,  6d, 
Oollis'a  Chief  Tenses  of  Latin  Irregular  Verbs.    8vo.  Is, 

— •     Pontes  Latini,  Stepping-Stone  to  Latin  Grammar.    12mo.  Zs,  64. 
Hewitt's  Latin  Examination-Papers.    12mo.  Is.  6d, 
Isbister'jB  Caesar,  Books  I.-YIL    12mo.  is. ;  or  with  Beading  Lessons,  4c  64. 

—  Csesar's  Commentaries,  Books  I.-Y.    12mo.  Zs.  64. 

—  First  Book  of  Caesar's  Gallic, War.    12mo.  Is,  64. 
Jerram's  LatinS  Beddenda.    Crown  Svo.  Is,  64. 

Kennedy's  Child's  Latin  Primer,  or  First  Latin  Lessons.    12mo.  2s, 

~  Child's  Latin  Accidence.    12mo.  Is, 

—  Elementary  Latin  Grammar.    12mo.  Zs.  64. 

—  Elementary  Latiu  Beading  Book,  or  Tirooiniun  LatJnnm.    ISmo.  2s, 

—  Latin  Prose,  Palaestra  Still  LatinL    12mo.  6s, 

—  Latin  Vocabulary.    12mo.  2«.  64. 

—  Subsidia  Primaria,  Exercise  Books  to  the  Public  School  Latin  Primer. 

L  Aoddenoe  and  Simple  Construction,  2s,  64.    II.  Syntax,  Zs,  64. 

—  KejT  to  the  Exercises  in  Subsidia  Primaria,  Parts  I.  and^II.  price  5s, 

—  Subsidia  Primaria,  IIL  the  Latin  Compound  Sentence.    12mo.  U, 


LONGMAJSrS,  GBEEN,  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York. 


A  Selection  of  Educational  Workt. 


15 


Kennedy's  Onrriccilam  Still  LatilnL    12m6. 4«.  6d.    Key,  7s.  Bd, 

—         PalflBstra  I^tina,  or  Second  Latin  Beading  Book.    12mo.  6$, 
Hoody*s  Eton  Latin  Grammar.    12mo.  2«.  6d,    The  Acddenoe  separately,  Is, 
Morris's  Elementa  Latina.    Fcp.  8vo.  l^.  6(2.    Key,  2s.  6(2. 
Parry's  Origlnes  Bomanas,  from  Livy,  'with  English  Notes.    Grown  8yo.  U, 
The  Public  School  Latin  Primer.    12mo.  2s.  6d, 

—     —        —        —     Grammar,  by  Bey.  Dr.  Kennedy.    Post  8vo.  7s,  W. 
Prendergast's  If  asttery  Series,  Manual  of  Latin.    12mo.  2s,  6d. 
Bapler's  Introduction  to  Composition  of  Latin  Yerse.    12mo.  3^.  6d.    Key,  2s.  6(2. 
Sheppard  and  Turner's  Aids  to  Classical  Study.    12mo.  6s.    Key,  6s, 
Valpy's  Latin  Delectus,  improved  by  White,    12mo.  2^.  Sd,    Key,  Ss.  6d, 
YirgiYa  MaeiA,  translated  into  English  Verse  by  Conington.    Grown  Svo.  9s, 

—  Works,  edited  by  Kennedy.    Crown  8vo.  lOs.  Sd. 

—  —      translated  into  English  Prose  by  Conington.    Crown  8to.  9.9. 
Walford's  Progressive  Exercises  in  Latin  Elegiiu)  Verse.    12mo.  2s.  6(2.    Key,  5«. 
White  and  Biddle's  Large  Latin-English  Dictionary.    1  toL  4to.  21s. 

White's  Oonoiae  Latin-Eng.  Dictionary  for  University  Students.    Boyal  8va  12s, 

-r-       Junior  Students'  Eng.-Lat.  &  Lat.-Eng.  Dictionary.    Square  12mo.  5«. 

Q-_--._+-,_  f  The  Latin-English  Dictionary,  price  3*. 
eeparateiy  ^  ^^^^  English-Latin  Dictionary,  price  3j. 

Yonge's  Latin  Gradns.    Post  Svo.  9s. ;  or  wi13i  Appendix,  I2i. 

WHITE'S  GRAMMAR-SCHOOL   GREEK   TEXTS. 


.Ssop  (Fables)  &  Palasphatus  CMyths). 

32ma   Is, 
Euiipides,  Hecuba.    2s. 
Homer,  Iliad,  Book  L  1^. 

—       Odyssey,  Book  I.  Is, 
Lucian,  Select  Dialogues.    Is. 
Xenophon,  Anabasis,  Books  L  III.  IV. 

V.  &  VI.  Is.  6(2.  each ;  Book  II.  Is. ; 

Book  VII.  2s, 


Xenophon,  Book  I.  without  Vocabu- 
lary.   8(2. 

St.  Matthew's  and  St.  Luke's  Gkwpels. 
2s.  6(2.  each. 

St.  Mark's  and  St.  John's  Gospels. 
Is,  6(2.  each. 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.    2s.  Bd, 

St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Bomans.  Is.  Bd, 


The  Four  Gospels  in  Greek,  with  Greek-English  Lexicon.    Edited  by  John  T, 

White,  D.D.  Oxon.    Square  32mo.  price  5s, 


WHITE'S    GRAMMAR-SCHOOL    LATIN    TEXTS. 


Caesar.  Gallic  War,  Books  I.  &  U.  V. 

&  VI.  Is,  each.     Book  I.  without 

Vocabulary,  3d, 
Caesar,  Gallic  War,  Books  III.  &  IV. 

9(2.  each. 
Caesar,  Gallic  War,  Book  VII.    1*.  Bd, 
Cicero,  Cato  Major  (Old  Age).    1*.  Bd, 
Cicero,  Laslius  (Friendship).    Is.  Bd, 
Eutropins,  Boman  Histoiy,  Books  I. 

&  II.  Is.    Books  III.  &  IV.  1*. 
Horace,Ode8,  Books  I.  II.  &  IV.  Is.  each. 
Horace,  Odes,  Book  III.    Is.  Bd, 
Horace,  Epodes  and  Carmen  Seculare. 

U 


Nepos,  Miltiades,  Simon,  Pausanias, 

Aristides.    9(2. 
Ovid.   Selections  from   Epistles  and 

Fasti.    1*. 
Ovid,  Select  Myths  from  Metamor- 
phoses.   9(2. 
Phaedrus,  Select  Easy  Fables, 
Pbaedrus,  Fables,  Books  I.  &  II.    Is, 
Sallust,  Bellum  Catllinarium.    1^.  Bd, 
Virgil,  Georgics,  Book  IV.    1*. 
Virgil,  2&aeid,  Books  I.  to  VI.  Is.  each. 

Book  I.  without  Vocabulary,  3d. 
Virgil,  JEneid,  Books  VH.  to   XII. 
Is.  Bd,  each. 


LONGMANS,  GBEfi^i  &  CO.,  London  and  New  York.